
Class TJitl^4_ 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




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The Plains of Troy 



SHAKESPEARE'S 



\'. 



HISTORY OF 



TROILUS AND CRESSIDA 



EDITED, WITH NOTES 

BY 

WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Litt.D. 

FORMERLY HEAD MASTER OF THE HIGH SCHOOL, 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



ILLUSTRATED 



NEW YORK • : • CINCINNATI • : • CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



\K 



jQ ^^ S l^akespeariaria 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two CoDies Received 

DEC 21 1905 

Oopyrio-ht Entry 

CLASS a. XXc. No 

COPY B. 



Copyright, 1882 and 1898, by 
HARPER & BROTHERS. 

Copyright, 1905, by 
WILLIAM J. ROLFE. 



TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
W. P. I 



d^-f 



PREFACE 



Troilus and Cressida is not a play for boys and girls, 
whether in school or out; and it is seldom, if ever, 
read in Shakespeare clubs, except the few that make a 
special study of the less familiar plays. It would never 
be taken up even by critical students or readers except 
in a somewhat advanced stage of their acquaintance 
with the dramatist. 

The play is never put upon the stage. There is no 
record of any performance in Shakespeare's day, though 
the registers of the Stationers' Company indicate that 
it was played by " my Lord Chamberlain's men " in 
1603, and one of the title-pages of the 1609 quarto (see 
p. 9 below) states that it was acted " at the Globe." 
From that day to this, so far as we have any informa- 
tion, it has never been reproduced in its original form. 
Dryden's wretched adaptation of it — Troilus and Cres- 
sida, or Truth Found Out Too Late — was reproduced 
in London in 1679, and also in 1709 and 1723, but 
apparently has not been acted since the latter date. 
Mr. F. A. Marshall (" Henry Irving " ed.) states that 
John Kemble planned a revival of Shakespeare's play 
and prepared a stage version of it, but it was never 
represented. There the stage history of the play ends, 
and probably for all time. 

These facts naturally affected the treatment of the 
play in my former edition, and I have not modified it 

5 



6 Preface 

materially in the revision. The introduction, however, 
has been rewritten, the notes have been carefully re- 
vised and considerably augmented, and an account of 
"The War of the Theatres" has been added in the 
Appendix. As with the other volumes of the revised 
edition, the book has also been made complete in itself 
by the substitution of new notes for those referring to 
my work on other plays. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Introduction to Troilus and Cressida .... 9 

The History of the Play ....... 9 

The Sources of the Plot . . . . . . .12 

General Comments on the Play . . . . . i^ 

Troilus and Cressida . .0 .... 29 

Act I . . .31 

Act II . . . . . o . . . .65 
Act HI . . . . . o . . » .90 

Act IV 117 

Act V . . . . . « • . • '145 

Notes ........... 179 

Appendix 

" The War of the Theatres " 282 

The Story of the Play in Chaucer and Shakespeare . 288 

The Time-Analysis of the Play ..... 291 

List of Characters in the Play ..... 292 



Index of Words and Phrases Explained 



295 




Tenedos 




Homer 



INTRODUCTION TO TROILUS AND 
CRESSIDA 



The History of the Play 

Troilus and Cressida was first published, so far as 
we know, in 1609, when two quarto editions were 
printed from the same type, but with somewhat dif- 
ferent title-pages. Both state that the play is "by 
William Shakespeare," and one refers to its having 
been " acted by the Kings Maiesties servants at the 
Globe." 

One of these editions differs from the other in hav- 
ing the following preface : — 

" A neuer writer to an euer reader. 

'' Newes. 

" Eternall reader, you haue heere a new play, neuer 
stal'd with the Stage, neuer clapper-clawd with the 

9 



lo Troilus and Cressida 

palmes of the vulger, and yet passing full of the palme 
comicall ; for it is a birth of your braine, that neuer 
under-tooke any thing commicall vainely : and were but 
the vaine names of commedies changde for the titles 
of commodities, or of playes for pleas, you should see 
all those grand censors, that now stile them such vani- 
ties, flock to them for the maine grace of their grauities ; 
especially this authors commedies, that are so fram'd 
to the life, that they serue for the most common com- 
mentaries of all the actions of our hues, showing such 
a dexteritie, and power of witte, that the most displeased 
with playes are pleasd with his commedies. And all 
such dull and heauy-witted worldlings, as were neuer 
capable of the witte of a commedie, comming by report 
of them to his representations, haue found that witte 
there that they neuer found in themselues, and haue 
parted better-witted then they came ; feeling an edge of 
witte set vpon them, more than euer they dream d they 
had braine to grinde it on. So much and such sauord 
salt of witte is in his commedies, that they seeme (for 
their height of pleasure) to be borne in that sea that 
brought forth Venus. Amongst all there is none more 
witty then this ; and had I time I would comment vpon 
it, though I know it needs not (for so much as will make 
you thinke your testern well bestowd), but for so much 
worth, as euen poore I know to be stuft in it. It de- 
serues such a labour, as well as the best commedy in 
Terence or Plautus : and beleeue this, that when hee is 
gone, and his commedies out of sale, you will scramble 



Introduction ii 

for them, and set vp a new English inquisition. Take 
this for a warning, and at the perill of your pleasures, 
losse, and iudgments, refuse not, nor Uke this the lesse 
for not being sulUed, with the smoaky breath of the 
multitude ; but thanke fortune for the scape it hath 
made amongst you. Since by the grand possessors 
wills, I belieue, you should haue prayd for them, rather 
than beene prayd. And so I leaue all such to bee 
prayd for (for the states of their wits healths) that will 
not praise it. — Vale^ 

The play was not reprinted until it appeared in the 
folio of 1623, where it stands between the " Histories " 
and " Tragedies ; " and it is not mentioned at all in the 
" Catalogue," or table of contents, at the beginning of 
the volume. The editors seem to have been puzzled 
to classify it. The " Tragedies " at first began with 
Coriolamis, followed by Titus Androniais and Romeo 
and Juliet. Troilus and Cressida was evidently intended 
to come next, and was put in type and paged for that 
place ; but it was afterwards transferred to its present 
position, and Timon of Athens used instead. The num- 
bers of the pages were cancelled, with the exception of 
the second and third, which were accidentally left with 
the 79 and 80 of the original pagination. The only 
reason that can be imagined for this change is that the 
editors were in doubt whether the play was a " tragedy " 
or a " history," and therefore decided to put it between 
the two, and to evade the responsibility of cataloguing 



12 Troilus and Cressida 

it in the table of contents. The writer of the prologue, 
whoever he may have been, treats it as a comedy. 

The date of the play cannot be determined with any 
certainty. In 1599 Dekker and Chettle were preparing 
a play on the same subject, and an entry in the Sta- 
tioners' Registers, dated February 7, 1602-03, proves 
that a Ti'oilus and Cressida had been acted by Shake- 
speare's company, the Lord Chamberlain's Servants. 
This may possibly have been an early draught of Shake- 
speare's play. Internal evidence is partly in favour of 
a date as early as this, and partly of one some five or 
six years later. Some critics have therefore decided 
that the play was written as early as 1602 or 1603, while 
others put it as late as 1608 or 1609. More likely, as 
Verplanck, White, and others believe, it was first writ- 
ten as early as 1602, and revised and enlarged some- 
where between 1606 and 1609. 

The Sources of the Plot 

If Shakespeare did not draw his materials from some 
earlier play, he probably took " the love-story " from 
Chaucer's Troilus and Cresseide, and " the camp story " 
from the Recuyell of the historyes of Troye, translated and 
drawen out of frenshe into englishe by W. Caxton, 1471 
(from Raoul le Fevre's Reciieil des His to ires de Troyes), 
or Lydgate's Hystorye, Sege and dystruccyon of Troye, 
15 ^3' 1555 (from Guido di Colonna), or both. Ther- 
sites, or at least a hint of the character, seems to be 



Introduction 13 

taken from Chapman's Iliad^ the first seven books of 
which appeared in 1597. 



General Comments on the Play 

Troilus and Cressida has been a perplexing subject 
for many of the ablest critics. Coleridge remarks : 
" There is no one of Shakespeare's plays harder to 
characterize. The name, and the remembrances con- 
nected with it, prepare us for the representation of 
attachment no less faithful than fervent on the side of 
the youth, and of sudden and shameless inconstancy 
on the part of the lady. And this is, indeed, as the 
gold thread on which the scenes are strung, though 
often kept out of sight, and out of mind by gems of 
greater value than itself. But as Shakespeare calls for 
nothing from the mausoleum of history, or the cata- 
combs of tradition, without giving or eliciting some 
permanent and general interest, and brings forward no 
subject which he does not moralize or intellectualize, 
so here he has drawn in Cressida the portrait of a 
vehement passion, that, having its true origin and proper 
cause in warmth of temperament, fastens on, rather 
than fixes to, some one object by liking and temporary 
preference. This Shakespeare has contrasted with the 
profound affection represented in Troilus, and alone 
worthy the name of love — affection, passionate indeed, 
swollen with the confluence of youthful instincts and 
youthful fancy, and growing in the radiance of hope 



14 Troilus and Cressida 

newly risen, in short enlarged by the collective sym- 
pathies of nature ; but still having a depth of calmer 
element in a will stronger than desire, more entire than 
choice, and which gives permanence to its own act 
by converting it into faith and dut}^ Hence with ex- 
cellent judgment, and with an excellence higher than 
mere judgment can give, at the close of the play, when 
Cressida has sunk into infamy below retrieval and 
beneath hope, the same will which had been the sub- 
stance and the basis of his love, while the restless 
pleasures and passionate longings, like sea-waves, had 
tossed but on its surface — this same moral energy is 
represented as snatching him aloof from all neighbour- 
hood with her dishonour, from all lingering fondness 
and languishing regrets, whilst it rushes with him into 
other and nobler duties, and deepens the channel which 
his heroic brother's death had left empty for its col- 
lected flood. . . . 

" To all this, however, so little comparative projec- 
tion is given — nay, the masterly group of Agamem- 
non, Nestor, and Ulysses, and, still more in advance, 
that of Achilles, Ajax, and Thersites, so manifestly 
occupy the foreground — that the subservience and 
vassalage of strength and animal courage to intellect 
and policy seems to be the lesson most often in our 
poet's view, and which he has taken little pains to 
connect with the former more interesting moral imper- 
sonated in the titular hero and heroine of the drama. 
But I am half inclined to believe that Shakspeare's 



Introduction 15 

main object, or, shall I rather say, his ruling impulse, 
was to translate the poetic heroes of paganism into the 
not less rude, but more intellectually vigorous, and 
more featurely, warriors of Christian chivalry, and to 
substantiate the distinct and graceful profiles or out- 
lines of the Homeric epic into the flesh and blood of 
the romantic drama — in short, to give a grand history- 
piece in the robust style of Albert Diirer." 

In an article " On Reading Shakespeare " (in The 
Galaxy, for February, 1877), Grant White has some 
admirable comments on this play, a few passages from 
which may well supplement those from Coleridge : — 

" Troilus and Cressida is Shakespeare's wisest play 
in the way of worldly wisdom. It is filled choke-full of 
sententious, and in most cases slightly satirical revela- 
tions of human nature, uttered with a felicity of phrase 
and an impressiveness of metaphor that make each one 
seem like a beam of light shot into the recesses of man's 
heart. 

" The undramatic character of Troilus and Cressida 
appears in its structure, its personages, and its purpose. 
. . . There is also a singular lack of that peculiar 
characteristic of Shakespeare's dramatic style, the 
marked distinction and nice discrimination of the in- 
dividual traits, mental and moral, of the various per- 
sonages. Ulysses is the real hero of the play; the 
chief, or, at least, the great purpose of which is the 
utterance of the Ulyssean view of life ; and in this play 
Shakespeare is Ulysses, or Ulysses, Shakespeare. In 



1 6 Troilus and Cressida 

all his other plays Shakespeare so lost his personal 
consciousness in the individuality of his own creations 
that they think and feel, as well as act, like real men 
and women other than their creator, so that we cannot 
truly say of the thoughts and feelings which they ex- 
press, that Shakespeare says thus or so ; for it is not 
Shakespeare who speaks, but they with his lips. But in 
Ulysses, Shakespeare, acting upon a mere hint, filling 
up a mere traditionary outline, drew a man of mature 
years, of wide observation, of profoundest cogitative 
power, one who knew all the weakness and all the 
wiles of human nature, and who yet remained with 
blood unbittered and soul un soured — a man who saw 
through all shams, and fathomed all motives, and who 
yet was not scornful of his kind, not misanthropic, 
hardly cynical except in passing moods ; and what 
other man w^as this than Shakespeare himself ? What 
had he to do when he had passed forty years but to 
utter his own thoughts when he would find words for 
the lips of Ulysses ? And thus it is that Troilus and 
Cressida is Shakespeare's wisest play. If we would 
know what Shakespeare thought of men and their 
motives after he reached maturity, we have but to 
read this drama — drama it is, but with what other 
character who shall say ? For, like the world's pageant, 
it is neither tragedy nor comedy, but a tragic-comic 
history, in which the intrigues of amorous men and 
light-o'-loves and the brokerage of panders are mingled 
with the deliberations of sages and the strife and the 



Introduction 17 

death of heroes. . . . And why, indeed, should Ulysses 
not speak for Shakespeare, or how could it be other 
than that he should ? The man who had written Ham- 
let, King Lear, Othello^ and Macbeth, if he wished to 
find Ulysses, had only to turn his mind's eye inward ; 
and thus we have in this drama Shakespeare's only 
piece of introspective work." 

Verplanck (whom I quote, as elsewhere, because his 
edition of Shakespeare, published in 1847, ^^^ been long 
out of print, and is to be found in few of the libraries) 
remarks : — 

" The play is, in all respects, a very remarkable and 
singular production ; and it has perplexed many a critic, 
not, as usual, by smaller difficulties of readings and 
interpretation, but by doubts as to the author's design 
and spirit. Its beauties are of the highest order. It 
contains passages fraught with moral truth and political 
wisdom — high truths, in large and philosophical dis- 
course, such as remind us of the loftiest disquisitions of 
Hooker, or Jeremy Taylor, on the foundations of social 
law. Thus the comments of Ulysses (i. 3) on the uni- 
versal obligation of the law of order and degree, and 
the confusion caused by rebellion to its rule, either in 
nature or in society, are in the very spirit of the grand- 
est and most instructive eloquence of Burke. The 
piece abounds, too, in passages of the most profound 
and persuasive practical ethics, and grave advice for 
the government of life ; as when, in the third act, 
Ulysses (the great didactic organ of the play) impresses 

TROILUS — 2 



1 8 Troilus and Cressida 

upon Achilles the consideration of man's ingratitude 
'for good deeds past,' and the necessity of perseverance 
to ' keep honour bright.' Other scenes again, fervid 
with youthful passion, or rich in beautiful imagery, are 
redolent with intense sweetness of poetic fancy. Such 
is that splendid exhortation of Patroclus to Achilles, 
of which Godwin has justly said that ' a more poetical 
passage, if poetry consists in sublime, picturesque, and 
beautiful imagery, neither ancient nor modern times 
have produced.' 

' Sweet, rouse yourself; and the weak, wanton Cupid 
Shall from your neck unloose his amorous folds, 
And like a dewdrop from the lion's mane 
Be shook to air.' 

" Nor is there any drama more rich in variety and truth 
of character. The Grecian camp is filled with real and 
living men of all sorts of temper and talent, while Ther- 
sites, a variation and improvement of the original de- 
formed railer of the Iliad, is, in his way, a new study of 
human nature, not (as some writers view him) a mere 
buffoon, but a sort of vulgar and cowardly lago, with- 
out the ' Ancient's ' courage and higher intellect, but 
with the same sort of wit and talent, and governed by 
the same self-generated malignity. So, too, Ulysses' 
sarcastic sketch of Cressida is a gem of art, at once 
arch, sagacious, and poetic. 

" With all this, there is large alloy of inferior matter, 
such as Shakespeare too often permitted himself to use, 
in filling up the chasms of the scene, between loftier 



Introduction 19 

and brighter thoughts. More especially is there felt, by 
every reader, a sense of disappointment at the unsatis- 
factory effect of the whole, arising mainly from the 
want of unity in that effect, and in the interest of the 
plot — at the desultory and purposeless succession of 
incident and dialogue, all resembling (as Walter Scott 
well observes) ' a legend, or a chronicle, rather than a 
dramatic composition.' That power of comprising the 
varied details of a great work in one view, and, while 
preserving the individuality and truth of the parts, 
blending them in the effect of one whole — the ponere 
totum of Horace — so essential to excellence in all of 
the higher works either of art or of literature, hardly 
appears here. Yet it is a power that Shakespeare never 
wanted or neglected, even in his earlier comedies ; and 
at the date of Troibis and Cressida he had exhibited the 
highest proof of it in Lear, Othello, and Macbeth. He 
had, even in Henry IV. and other historical plays, 
shown how the less pliable incidents and personages of 
actual history could be made to harmonize in one cen- 
tral and pervading interest. In this respect Troilus and 
Cressida is so singularly deficient that Walter Scott 
{Life of Dryden) characterizes it as having been ' left 
by its author in a singular state of imperfection ; ' while 
Dryden (in the preface to his own alteration of this 
play) pronounces that ' the author began it with some 
fire,' but that he grew weary of his task, and ' the latter 
part of the tragedy is nothing but a confusion of drums 
and trumpets, excursions and alarms ; ' the characters 



20 Troilus and Cressida 

of Hector, Troilus, and others having, been, in his 
opinion, 'begun and left unfinished.' 

" The plot and incidents present other incongruities, 
not easy of solution. The main story is founded on the 
old legendary story of Troy, as the middle ages received 
it ; Chaucer having given the leading idea of the hero 
and heroine, and the story and other accessories, such 
as Homer never dreamed of, having been incorporated 
from old Lydgate and Caxton. Of this we have a 
striking instance in the murder of Hector by Achilles 
and his Myrmidons, so contradictory to all the notions 
Homer gave us of his divine Pelides, Yet, on the other 
hand, the Grecian chiefs are all so depicted, and with 
such, minuteness, as not to permit a doubt but that the 
author of these scenes was familiar with some contem- 
porary translation of the Iliad. 

" Moreover, the style, and the verbal and metrical 
peculiarities, suggest other questions. There is much 
in the play recalling the rhymes and the dialogue of the 
poet's earlier comedies, while the higher and more con- 
templative passages resemble the diction and measure 
of his middle period — that of Measure for Measure 
and Lear. It also abounds in singular words, unusual 
accentuations, and bold experiments in language, such 
as he most indulged in during that period, but to a 
greater extent than can, I think, be found in any other 
play. 

" Under these circumstances, the Shakespearian 
critics have found ample room for theory. I have 



Introduction 2i 

already noticed the supposition of Dryden, and of 
Walter Scott, that the play was left imperfect, or hur- 
ried to a conclusion with little care, after parts had 
been as carefully elaborated. Another set of English 
commentators, from Steevens to Seymour, have satisfied 
themselves that Shakespeare's genius and taste had 
been expended in improving the work of an inferior 
author, whose poorer groundwork still appeared through 
his more precious decorations. This Steevens sup- 
poses might be the ' Troyelles and Cresseda ' on which 
Dekker and Chettle were employed, in 1599, as we 
learn from Henslowe's Diary." 

After referring to Coleridge's comments on the play, 
as quoted above, Verplanck says : " He had before (in 
1802) transiently suggested the opinion that the drama 
was in part ironical, or, I suppose, mock-heroical. 
Schlegel, who seems in some way to have picked up 
ideas of Coleridge's, not published till after his death — 
whether from his unwritten lectures, or from some com- 
mon source, it is not clear — carries this notion further. 
He asserts that Shakespeare, 'without caring for the- 
atrical effect, here pleased his own malicious wit ; ' and 
that the whole is one continued irony of the crown of 
all heroic tales — the ' Tale of Troy.' The poet, there- 
fore, puts in the strongest light the contemptible nature 
of the origin of the war, and the discord and folly that 
marked its progress. In short, it is an heroic comedy, 
parodying every thing in the subject sacred from tradi- 
tional fame or the pomp of poetry." 



22 Troilus and Cressida 

Knight coincides with this notion of '' the grave irony 
of Troilus and Ci'essiday His philosophical theory of 
the play is that of the German Ulrici, that " the whole 
tendency of the play — its incidents, its characteriza- 
tion — is to lower what the Germans call herodom. 
Ulrici maintains that ' the far-sighted Shakespeare cer- 
tainly did not mistake as to the beneficial effect which 
a nearer intimacy with the high culture of antiquity had 
produced, and would produce, upon the Christian Euro- 
pean mind. But he saw the danger of an indiscriminate 
admiration of this classical antiquity ; for he who thus 
accepted it must necessarily fall to the very lowest 
station in religion and morality ; as, indeed, if we 
closely observe the character of the eighteenth century, 
we see has happened. Out of this prophetic spirit, 
which penetrated with equal clearness through the 
darkness of coming centuries and the clouds of a far- 
distant past, Shakespeare wrote this deeply significant 
satire upon the Homeric herodom. He had no desire 
to debase the elevated, to deteriorate or make little the 
great, and still less to attack the poetical worth of 
Homer, or of heroic poetry in general. But he wished 
to warn thoroughly against the over-valuation and idola- 
try of them, to which man so willingly abandons him- 
self ; and, at the same time, to bring strikingly to view 
the truth that every thing merely human, even when it 
is glorified with the nimbus of a poetic ideality and a 
mythical past, yet, seen in the bird's-eye perspective of 
a pure moral ideality, appears very small.' " 



Introduction 23 

Dowden asks : " With what intention, and in what 
spirit, did Shakspere write this strange comedy ? All 
the Greek heroes who fought against Troy are pitilessly 
exposed to ridicule : Helen and Cressida are light, 
sensual, and heartless, for whose sake it seems infatu- 
ated folly to strike a blow ; Troilus is an enthusiastic 
young fool ; and even Hector, though valiant and 
generous, spends his life in a cause which he knows to 
be unprofitable, if not evil. All this is seen and said 
by Thersites, whose mind is made up of the scum of 
the foulness of human life. But can Shakspere's view 
of things have been the same as that of Thersites ? 

" The central theme, the young love and faith of 
Troilus given to one who was false and fickle, and his 
discovery of his error, lends its colour to the whole 
play. It is the comedy of disillusion. And as Troilus 
passed through the illusion of his first love for woman, 
so by middle life the world itself often appears like one 
that has not kept her promises, and who is a poor 
deceiver. We come to see the seamy side of life ; and 
from this mood of disillusion it is a deliverance to pass 
on even to a dark and tragic view of life, to Which 
beauty and virtue reappear, even though human weak- 
ness or human vice may do them bitter wrong. Now such 
a mood of contemptuous depreciation of life may have 
come over Shakspere, and spoiled him, at that time, for 
a writer of comedy. But for Isabella we should find 
the coming-on of this mood in Measure for Measure ; 
there is perhaps a touch of it in Hamlet. At this time 



24 Troilus and Cressida 

Troilus and Cressida may have been written, and then 
Shakspere, rousing himself to a deeper inquest into 
things, may have passed on to his great series of 
tragedies." 

Furnivall remarks : " This is the most difficult of all 
Shakspere's plays to deal with, as well for date as 
position. We only know that it was published in 1609 
with a preface by another man, and evidently without 
Shakspere's consent, as his Sonnets of the same date 
also were. This fact seems to point to Shakspere's 
having left London, possibly in disgust at some neglect 
of him by his patrons or the public, at which he has 
been thought to hint in Achilles's complaints. Yet 
Shakspere had just produced his greatest tragedies, and 
no one could then have been his rival. The play is 
evidently written in ill-humour with mankind ; it is a 
bitter satire. Its purpose is not to show virtue her own 
feature, but contemptible weakness, paltry vanity, false- 
hood (like scorn), their own image." 

However we may interpret the play, it seems to me 
that it belongs to that period in the poet's career which 
marks the transition from the " golden prime of com- 
edy," as it has been aptly designated — the period of 
As You Like It, Much Ado, and Twelfth Night — to that 
of the great tragedies. It is one of a group of plays 
that are in marked contrast to those of the preceding 
period. They are comedies only in name, or because 
they do not have a tragical ending. They are AlPs 
Well, Measure for Measure, and the play we are con- 



Introduction 25 

sidering — "one earnest, another dark and severe, the 
last bitter and ironical " (Dowden). 

That the prevailing tone of these plays, as Hallam, 
Verplanck, Dowden, and others assume, was not due 
merely to a change in taste or an inclination to try a 
new experiment in dramatic composition, but was con- 
nected in some way with Shakespeare's personal ex- 
periences, can hardly be doubted ; though this view is 
vehemently opposed by some excellent critics, who 
insist that he simply wrote what theatrical managers 
wanted, whether comedy or tragedy. " If a comedy 
was called for," they ask, " would he have declined to 
furnish it on the ground that he was in his tragic 
period ? " Probably not ; but it would have proved to 
be a comedy like A/^s Well or Measure for Measure 
rather than As You Like It or Twelfth Night. 

This marked change in the poet's mood and temper 
has been compared to " the passage from a sunny 
charming landscape to a wild mountain district whose 
highest peaks are shrouded in thick mist." How can 
we account for it? Shakespeare's father had died in 
1601. The episode of the Sonnets had come to an end, 
and had left the poet a sadder and wiser man. Per- 
haps, as Ten Brink believes, certain events in the his- 
tory of the time give us, partially at least, the true 
explanation. In 1601 London was disturbed by the 
conspiracy and rebellion of the Earl of Essex. The 
earl evidently took a deep interest in Shakespeare's 
works, and the dramatist doubtless followed the career 



i6 Troilus and Cressida 

of the earl with peculiar interest and sympathy. The 
Earl of Southampton, Shakespeare's friend and patron, 
who was involved in the conspiracy, escaped the doom 
of death which befell Essex and many of his followers, 
but he was kept in prison while Elizabeth lived. The 
play of Julius Ccesar was written at about this time, 
but probably too early to justify the opinion of certain 
critics that it followed close upon the tragic end of 
Essex, due, like that of Brutus, to a fatal con- 
spiracy. 

But, whatever the cause may have been, Shakespeare 
at this period " ceased to care for tales of mirth and 
love," and was led " to sound with his imagination the 
depths of the human heart, to study the great problem 
of evil." The three comedies that are not comedies 
have therefore been called " problem plays." They 
involve abnormal conditions of thought and feeling, 
and " intricate cases of conscience which demand a 
solution by unprecedented methods." They show that 
the author's mind is tending in the direction of tragedy, 
and the great tragedies follow them. 

That Troilus and Cressida has any connection what- 
ever with the so-called " War of the Theatres " (for 
which see further in the Appendix to my Notes) I do 
not believe. Mr. Fleay's notion that the play is nothing 
else than a satire on rival dramatists, — Hector repre- 
senting Shakespeare, Thersites Dekker, Ajax Ben Jon- 
son, and so on, — seems to me quite absurd. Mr. 
Verity (in the " Henry Irving " edition) is nearer right. 



Introduction 27 

I think, in his closing comments on the play. He 
says : — 

" Everyone remembers Edgar Poe's story of the man 
who, having an important paper to conceal, put it in an 
old vase on his mantel-shelf, arguing that no one would 
ever look in so obvious a place. This old-vase idea 
is not inapplicable sometimes in matters of criticism. 
Critics in their efforts to find out a recondite interpreta- 
tion are occasionally apt to overlook the obvious one ; 
they forget the old vase. Perhaps it is so here. The 
name of the play may be the vase. The ordinary mor- 
tal, seeing the title of the play — Troilus and Cressida 
— would expect to find in the piece a love-story. And 
is it anything more than a love-story ? a love-story 
coloured by the peculiar phase of feeling and emotion 
through which the poet was passing at the time of its 
composition ? Romeo and Juliet was written by a young 
man. It is natural for youth to believe strongly in the 
existence of such things as loyalty and love and truth. 
Time brings disillusions. The poet does not become a 
cynic and cease to believe in good ; only he perceives 
that there is evil too in the world, fickleness and disloy- 
alty as well as fidelity. And so, as a dramatist should, 
he shows the other side of the shield. Romeo and Juliet 
is a study of love from one stand-point ; Troilus and 
Cressida is a study of love from exactly the opposite 
^stand-point ; et voila tout.^^ 



TROILUS AND CRESSIDA 



DRAMATIS PERSONM 

Priam, king of Troy. 

Hector, 1 

Troilus, I 

Paris, )■ his sons. 

Deiphobus, I 

Helenus, j 

Margarelon, a bastard son of Priam. 

^ENEAS, f rp . J 

Antenor, ^^m^^^ov^^^x^^^xs. 

Calchas, a Trojan priest, taking part with the Greeks. 

Pandarus, uncle to Cressida. 

Agamemnon, the Grecian general. 

Menelaus, his brother 

Achilles. ~! 

AjAX. j 

Ulysses, \ r^ ■ 

Nestor, f <^^^"^" P"^'^^^' 

Diomedes, ' 

Patroclus, [i 

Thersites, a deformed and scurrilous Grecian. 

Alexander, servant to Cressida. 

Servant to Troilus. 

Servant to Paris. 

Servant to Diomedes. 

Helen, wife to Menelaus. 
Andromache, wife to Hector. 
Cassandra, daughter to Priam, a prophetess. 
Cressida, daughter to Calchas. 

Trojan and Greek Soldiers, and Attendants. 

Scene: Troy, and the Grecian camp before it. 



Ulysses (from ancient gem) 



PROLOGUE 



In Troy, there lies the scene. From isles of Greece 
The princes orgulous, their high blood chaf'd, 
Have to the port of Athens sent their ships, 
Fraught with the ministers and instruments 
Of cruel war. Sixty and nine, that wore 
Their crownets regal, from the Athenian bay 
Put forth toward Phrygia ; and their vow is made 
To ransack Troy, within whose strong immures 
The ravish'd Helen, Menelaus' queen, 
With wanton Paris sleeps ; and that 's the quarrel. 
To Tenedos they come ; 

And the deep-drawing barks do there disgorge 
Their warlike fraughtage. Now on Dardan plains 
The fresh and yet unbruised Greeks do pitch 
Their brave pavilions ; Priam's six-gated city, 
Dardan, and Tymbria, Helias, Chetas, Troien, 
And Antenorides, with massy staples 

31 



32 Troilus and Cressida 

And corresponsive and fulfilling bolts, 

Sperr up the sons of Troy. 

Now expectation, tickling skittish spirits, 20 

On one and other side, Trojan and Greek, 

Sets all on hazard ; and hither am I come 

A prologue arm'd, but not in confidence 

Of author's pen or actor's voice, but suited 

In like conditions as our argument. 

To tell you, fair beholders, that our play 

Leaps o'er the vaunt and firstlings of those broils. 

Beginning in the middle, starting thence away 

To what may be digested in a play. 

Like or find fault, do as your pleasures are ; 30 

Now good or bad, 't is but the chance of war. 




Before Agamemnon's Tent (Scene 3) 



ACT I 

Scene I. Troy. Be/ore Priam^s Palace 
Enter Troilus, armed, and Pandarus 

Troilus. Call here my varlet ; I '11 unarm again. 
Why should I war without the walls of Troy 
That find such cruel battle here within ? 
Each Trojan that is master of his heart, 
Let him to field ; Troilus, alas ! hath none. 

Pandarus. Will this gear ne'er be mended ? 
TROILUS — 3 33 



34 Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

Troilus. The Greeks are strong, and skilful to their 
strength, 
Fierce to their skill, and to their fierceness valiant ; 
But I am weaker than a woman's tear, 
Tamer than sleep, fonder than ignorance, lo 

Less valiant than the virgin in the night, 
And skilless as unpractis'd infancy. 

Pandarus. Well, I have told you enough of this ; 
for my part, I '11 not meddle nor make no further. 
He that will have a cake out of the wheat must needs 
tarry the grinding. 

Troilus. Have I not tarried ? 

Pandarus. Ay, the grinding ; but you must tarry 
the bolting. 

T^'oilus. Have I not tarried ? 20 

Pandarus. Ay, the bolting ; but you must tarry 
the leavening. 

Troilus. Still have I tarried. 

Pandarus. Ay, to the leavening ; but here 's yet 
in the word ' hereafter ' the kneading, the making of 
the cake, the heating of the oven, and the baking ; 
nay, you must stay the cooling too, or you may 
chance to burn your lips. 

Troilus. Patience herself, what goddess e'er she be, 
Doth lesser blench at sufferance than I do. 30 

At Priam's royal table do I sit ; 
And when fair Cressid comes into my thoughts, — 
So, traitor ! — When she comes ! — When is she 
thence ? 



Scene I] Troilus and Cressida 35 

Pajidarus. Well, she looked yesternight fairer than 
ever I saw her look, or any woman else. 

Troilus. I was about to tell thee. — When my heart, 
As wedged with a sigh, would rive in twain, 
Lest Hector or my father should perceive me, 
I have, as when the sun doth light a storm. 
Buried this sigh in wrinkle of a smile ; 40 

But sorrow that is couch 'd in seeming gladness 
Is like that mirth fate turns to sudden sadness. 

Pandarus. An her hair were not somewhat darker 
than Helen's — well, go to — there were no more com- 
parison between the women. But, for my part, she 
is my kinswoman ; I would not, as they term it, praise 
her, — but I would somebody had heard her talk yes- 
terday, as I did. I will not dispraise your sister Cas- 
sandra's wit, but — 

Troilus. O Pandarus ! I tell thee, Pandarus, — 
When I do tell thee there my hopes lie drown'd, 
Reply not in how many fathoms deep 52 

They lie indrench'd. I tell thee I am mad 
In Cressid's love ; thou answer'st ' she is fair,' 
Pour'st in the open ulcer of my heart 
Her eyes, her hair, her cheek, her gait, her voice, 
Handiest in thy discourse, O, that her hand. 
In whose comparison all whites are ink, 
Writing their own reproach, to whose soft seizure 
The cygnet's down is harsh and spirit of sense 60 

Hard as the palm of ploughman. This thou tell'st me, 
As true thou tell'st me, when I say I love her ; 



^6 Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

But, saying thus, instead of oil and balm. 

Thou lay'st in every gash that love hath given me 

The knife that made it. 

Pandarus. I speak no more than truth. 

Troilus. Thou dost not speak so much. 

Pandarus. Faith, I '11 not meddle in 't. Let her 
be as she is : if she be fair, 't is the better for her ; 
an she be not, she has the mends in her own 
hands. 71 

Troilus. Good Pandarus, how now, Pandarus ! 

Pandarus. I have had my labour for my travail ; 
ill-thought on of her and ill-thought on of you ; gone 
between and between, but small thanks for my labour. 

Troilus. What, art thou angry, Pandarus ? what, 
wath me? 

Patidarus. Because she 's kin to me, therefore 
she 's not so fair as Helen ; an she were not kin to 
me, she would be as fair on Friday as Helen is on 
Sunday. But what care I ? I care not an she were 
a blackamoor ; 't is all one to me. 82 

Troilus. Say I she is not fair ? 

Pandarus. I do not care whether you do or no. 
She 's a fool to stay behind her father. Let her to 
the Greeks ; and so I '11 tell her the next time I see 
her. For my part, I '11 meddle nor make no more i' 
the matter. 

Troilus. Pandarus, — 

Pandai'us. Not I. 90 

Troilus. Sweet Pandarus, — 



Scene I] Troilus and Cressida 37 

Pandarus. Pray you, speak no more to me ; I will 
leave all as I found it, and there an end. 

* [Exit Pandarus. An alarum. 

Troilus. Peace, you ungracious clamours ! peace, 
rude sounds ! 
Fools on both sides ! Helen must needs be fair 
When with your blood you daily paint her thus. 
I cannot fight upon this argument ; 
It is too starv'd a subject for my sword. 
But Pandarus, — O gods, how do you plague me ! 
I cannot come to Cressid but by Pandar ; 100 

And he 's as tetchy to be woo'd to woo 
As she is stubborn-chaste against all suit. — ■ 
Tell me, Apollo, for thy Daphne's love, 
What Cressid is, what Pandar, and what w^e ? 
Her bed is India ; there she lies, a pearl. 
Between our Ilium and where she resides. 
Let it be call'd the wild and wandering flood, 
Ourself the merchant, and this sailing Pandar 
Our doubtful hope, our convoy, and our bark. 

Alarum. Enter ^neas 

^neas. How now, Prince Troilus ! wherefore not 
afield ? no 

Troilus. Because not there; this woman's answer 
sorts, 
For womanish it is to be from thence. 
What news, ^neas, from the field to-day ? ^ 

^neas. That Paris is returned home and hurt. 



38 Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

Troilus. By whom, ^neas ? 

y^neas. Troilus, by Menelaus. 

Troilus. Let Paris bleed : 't is but a scar to scorn ; 
Paris is gor'd with Menelaus' horn. \^Alarum. 

y^neas. Hark, what good sport is out of tOAvn to- 
day ! 
Troilus. Better at home, if ' would I might ' were 
' may.' 
But to the sport abroad : are you bound thither ? 120 
^neas. In all swift haste. 

Troilus. Come, go we then together. 

\Exeunt. 

Scene II. The Same. A Street 

Enter Cressida and Alexander 

Cressida. Who were those went by ? 

Alexander. Queen Hecuba and Helen. 

Cressida. And whither go they ? 

Alexander. Up to the eastern tower. 

Whose height commands as subject all the vale. 
To see the battle. Hector, whose patience 
Is as a virtue fix'd, to-day was mov'd. 
He chid Andromache and struck his armourer, 
And, like as there were husbandry in war, 
Before the sun rose he was harness 'd light. 
And to the field goes he ; where every flower 
Did, as a prophet, weep what it foresaw 10 

In Hector's wrath. 

Cressida. What was his cause of anger ? 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 39 

Alexander. The noise goes, this : there is among the 
Greeks 
A lord of Trojan blood, nephew to Hector; 
They call him Ajax. 

Cressida. Good ; and what of him ? 

Alexander. They say he is a very man per se, 
And stands alone. 

Ci^essida. So do all men, unless they are drunk, 
sick, or have no legs. 18 

Alexander. This man, lady, hath robbed many 
beasts of their particular additions : he is as valiant 
as the lion, churlish as the bear, slow as the elephant ; 
a man into whom nature hath so cro^vded humours 
that his valour is crushed into folly, his folly sauced 
with discretion. There is no man hath a virtue that 
he hath not a glimpse of, nor any man an attaint but 
he carries some stain of it : he is melancholy without 
cause, and merry against the hair ; he hath the joints 
of every thing, but every thing so out of joint that he 
is a gouty Briareus, many hands and no use, or pur- 
blind Argus, all eyes and no sight. 30 

Cressida. But how should this man that makes me 
smile make Hector angry ? 

Alexander. They say he yesterday coped Hector 
in the battle and struck him down, the disdain and 
shame whereof hath ever since kept Hector fasting 
and waking. 

Cressida. Who comes here ? 

Alexander. Madam, your uncle Pandarus, 



40 Troilus and Cressida [Act I 

Enter Pandarus 

Cressida. Hector 's a gallant man. 

Alexander. As may be in the world, lady. 40 

Pandarus. What 's that ? what 's that ? 

Cressida. Good morrow, uncle Pandarus. 

Pandarus. Good morrow, cousin Cressid ; what 
do you talk of? — Good morrow, Alexander. — How 
do you, cousin ? When were you at Ilium ? 

Cressida. This morning, uncle. 

Pandarus. What were you talking of when I came ? 
Was Hector armed and gone ere ye came to Ilium ? 
Helen was not up, was she ? 

Cressida. Hector was gone, but Helen was not up. 

Pandarus. Even so ; Hector was stirring early. 51 

Cressida. That were we talking of, and of his anger. 

Pandarus. Was he angry ? 

Cressida. So he says here. 

Pandarus. True, he was so ; I know the cause too. 
He '11 lay about him to-day, I can tell them that ; and 
there 's Troilus will not come far behind him. Let 
them take heed of Troilus, I can tell them that too. 

Cressida. What, is he angry too ? 

Pandarus. Who, Troilus ? Troilus is the better 
man of the two. 61 

Cressida. O Jupiter ! there 's no comparison. 

Pandarus. What, not between Troilus and Hector ? 
Do you know a man if you see him ? 

Cressida. Ay, if I ever sawhim before and knew him. 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 41 

Pandarus. Well, I say Troilus is Troilus. 

Cressida. Then you say as I say ; for, I am sure, 
he is not Hector. 

Pandarus. No, nor Hector is not Troilus in some 
degrees. 70 

Cressida. 'T is just to each of them ; he is himself. 

Pandarus. Himself ! Alas, poor Troilus ! I would 
he were. 

Cressida. So he is. 

Pandarus. Condition, I had gone barefoot to India. 

Cressida. He is not Hector. 

Pandarus. Himself ! no, he 's not himself ; would 
a' were himself ! — Well, the gods are above ; time 
must friend or end. — Well, Troilus, well; I would 
my heart were in her body. — No, Hector is not a 
better man than Troilus. 81 

Cressida. Excuse me, 

Pandarus. He is elder. 

Cressida. Pardon me, pardon me, 

Pandarus. Th' other 's not come to 't ; you shall 
tell me another tale when th' other 's come to 't. 
Hector shall not have his wit this year, 

Cressida. He shall not need it, if he have his own. 

Pandarus. Nor his qualities. 

Cressida. No matter. 90 

Pandarus. Nor his beauty. 

Cressida. 'T would not become him ; his own 's 
better. 

Pandarus. You have no judgment, niece ; Helen 



42 Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

herself swore th' other day that Troilus, for a brown 
favour — for so 't is, I must confess, — not brown 
neither, — 

Cressida. No, but brown. 

Pandarus. Faith, to say truth, brown and not 
brown. loo 

Cressida. To say the truth, true and not true. 

Pandarus. She praised his complexion above 
Paris. 

Cressida. Why, Paris hath colour enough. 

Pandarus. So he has. 

Cressida. Then Troilus should have too much. 
If she praised him above, his complexion is higher 
than his ; he having colour enough, and the other 
higher, is too flaming a praise for a good complex- 
ion. I had as lief Helen's golden tongue had com- 
mended Troilus for a copper nose. m 

Pandarus. I swear to you, I think Helen loves 
him better than Paris. 

Cressida. Then she 's a merry Greek indeed. 

Pandarus. Nay, I am sure she does. She came 
to him th' other day into the compassed window, — 
and, you know, he has not past three or four hairs 
on his chin, — 

Cressida. Indeed, a tapster's arithmetic may soon 
bring his particulars therein to a total. 120 

Pandarus. Why, he is very young ; and yet will 
he, within three pound, lift as much as his brother 
Hector. 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida ^3 

Cressida. Is he so young a man and so old a 
lifter ? 

Pandarus. But to prove to you that Helen loves 
him, — she came and puts me her white hand to his 
cloven chin — 

Cressida. Juno have mercy ! how came it cloven ? 

Pandarus. Why, you know, 't is dimpled ; I think 
his smiling becomes him better than any man in all 
Phrygia. 132 

Cressida. O, he smiles valiantly ! 

Pandarus. Does he not ? 

Cressida. O yes, an 'twere a cloud in autumn! 

Pandarus. Why, go to, then ; but to prove to you 
that Helen loves Troilus, — 

Cressida. Troilus will stand to the proof, if you '11 
prove it so. 

Pandarus. Troilus ! why, he esteems her no more 
than I esteem an addle &gg. 141 

Cressida. If you love an addle egg as well as you 
love an idle head, you would eat chickens i' the shell. 

Pandarus. I cannot choose but laugh, to think 
how she tickled his chin ; indeed, she has a marvel- 
lous white hand, I must needs confess, — 

Cressida. Without the rack. 

Pandarus. And she takes upon her to spy a white 
hair on his chin. 

Cressida. Alas, poor chin ! many a wart is richer. 

Pandarus. But there was such laughing ! Queen 
Hecuba laughed that her eyes ran o'er. 152 



44 Troiius and Cressida [Act i 

Cressida. With mill-stones. 

Pandarus. And Cassandra laughed. 

Cressida. But there was more temperate fire under 
the pot of her eyes ; did her eyes run o'er too ? 

Pandarus. And Hector laughed. 

Cressida. At what was all this laughing ? 

Pandarus. Marry, at the white hair that Helen 
spied on Troiius' chin. i6o 

Cressida. An 't had been a green hair, I should 
have laughed too. 

Pandarus. They laughed not so much at the hair 
as at his pretty answer. 

Cressida. What was his answer ? 

Pandarus. Quoth she, ' Here 's but two and fifty 
hairs on your chin, and one of them is white.' 

Cressida. This is her question. i68 

Pandarus, That 's true ; make no question of that. 
' Two and fifty hairs,' quoth he, ' and one white ; 
that white hair is my father, and all the rest are his 
sons.' 'Jupiter! ' quoth she, 'which of these hairs 
is Paris my husband?' 'The forked one,' quoth 
he ; ' pluck 't out, and give it him.' But there was 
such laughing ! and Helen so blushed, and Paris so 
chafed, and all the rest so laughed, that it passed. 

Cressida. So let it now ; for it has been a great 
while going by. 

Pa?idarus. Well, cousin, I told you a thing yester- 
day ; think on 't. 180 

Cressida. So I do. 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 45 

Pandarus. I '11 be sworn 't is true ; he will weep 
you an 't were a man born in April. 

Cressida, And I '11 spring up in his tears an 
't were a nettle against May. \A retreat sounded. 

Pandarus. Hark ! they are coming from the field. 
Shall we stand up here, and see them as they pass 
toward Ilium ? good niece, do, sweet niece Cressida. 

Cressida. At your pleasure. 189 

Pandarus. Here, here, here 's an excellent place ; 
here we may see most bravely. I '11 tell you them 
all by their names as they pass by ; but mark Troilus 
above the rest. 

Cressida. Speak not so loud. 

^NEAS passes 

Pandarus. That 's vEneas. Is not that a brave 
man ? he 's one of the flowers of Troy, I can tell you ; 
but mark Troilus ; you shall see anon. 

Antenor passes 

Cressida. Who 's that ? . 198 

Pandarus. That 's Antenor. He has a shrewd 
wit, I can tell you ; and he 's a man good enough. 
He 's one o' the soundest judgments in Troy, whoso- 
ever, and a proper man of person. — When comes 
Troilus ? — I '11 show you Troilus anon ; if he see me, 
you shall see him nod at me. 

C?'essida. Will he give you the nod .'* 

Pandarus. You shall see. 



46 Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

Cressida. If he do, the rich shall have more. 
Hector passes 

Pandarus. That 's Hector, that, that, look you, 
that ; there 's a fellow ! — Go thy way. Hector ! — 
There 's a brave man, niece. — O brave Hector! — 
Look how he looks ! there 's a countenance ! is 't not 
a brave man ? 212 

Cressida. O, a brave man ! 

Pandarus. Is a' not ? it does a man's heart good. 
Look you what hacks are on his helmet ! look you 
yonder, do you see ? look you there ! there 's no jest- 
ing ; there 's laying on, take 't off who will, as they 
say ! there be hacks ! 

Cressida. Be those with swords ? 219 

Pandarus. Swords ! any thing, he cares not ; an 
the devil come to him, it 's all one. By God's lid, it 
does one's heart good ! Yonder comes Paris, yon- 
der comes Paris. 

Paris passes 

Look ye yonder, niece ; is 't not a gallant man too, 
is 't not ? Why, this is brave now. Who said he 
came hurt home to-day ? he 's not hurt ; why, this 
will do Helen's heart good now, ha ! — Would I 
could see Troilus now ! — You shall see Troilus 
anon. 229 

Helenus passes 

Cressida. Who 's that ? 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 47 

Pandarus. That 's Helenus. — I marvel where 
Troilus is. — That 's Helenus. — I think he went not 
forth to-day. — That 's Helenus. 

Cressida. Can Helenus fight, uncle ? 

Pandarus. Helenus ? no. Yes, he '11 fight indif- 
ferent well. — I marvel where Troilus is. — Hark ! 
do you not hear the people cry ' Troilus ' ? — Helenus 
is a priest. 

Cressida. What sneaking fellow comes yonder ? 

Troilus passes 

Pandarus. Where ? yonder ? that 's Deiphobus. — 
'T is Troilus ! there 's a man, niece ! Hem ! Brave 
Troilus ! the prince of chivalry ! 242 

Cressida. Peace, for shame, peace ! 

Pandarus. Mark him ; note him. O brave Troi- 
lus ! Look well upon him, niece ; look you how his 
sword is bloodied, and his helm more hacked than 
Hector's, and how he looks, and how he goes ! O 
admirable youth ! he ne'er saw three and twenty. — 
Go thy way, Troilus, go thy way ! — Had I a sister 
were a Grace, or a daughter a goddess, he should 
take his choice. O admirable man ! Paris ? Paris 
is dirt to him ; and, I warrant, Helen, to change, 
would give an eye to boot. 253 

Cressida. Here come more. 

Forces pass 
Pandarus. Asses, fools, dolts ! chaff and bran, 



48 Troilus and Cressida [Act I 

chaff and bran ! porridge after meat ! I could live 
and die i' the eyes of Troilus. Ne'er look, ne'er 
look ; the eagles are gone 1 crows and daws, crows 
and daws ! I had rather be such a man as Troilus 
than Agamemnon and all Greece. 260 

Cressida. There is among the Greeks Achilles, a 
better man than Troilus. 

Pandarus. Achilles ! a drayman, a porter, a very 
camel. 

Cressida. Well, well. 

Pandarus. Well, well ! Why, have you any dis- 
cretion ? have you any eyes ? do you know what a 
man is ? Is not birth, beauty, good shape, discourse, 
manhood, learning, gentleness, virtue, youth, liber- 
ality, and such like, the spice and salt that season a 
man ? 271 

Cressida. Ay, a minced man ; and then to be 
baked with no date in the pie, for then the man's 
date 's out. 

Pandarus. You are such another woman ! one 
knows not at what ward you lie. 

Cressida. Upon my back, to defend my belly; 
upon my wit, to defend my wiles ; upon my secrecy, 
to defend mine honesty ; my mask, to defend my 
beauty ; and you, to defend all these ; and at all 
these wards I lie, at a thousand watches. 281 

Pandarus. Say one of your watches. 

Cressida. Nay, I '11 watch you for that ; and that 's 
one of the chiefest of them too. If I cannot ward 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 49 

what I would not have hit, I can watch you for tell- 
ing how I took the blow ; unless it swell past hiding, 
and then it 's past watching. 

Pandarus. You are such another ! 

Enter Troilus 's Boy 

Boy. Sir, my lord would instantly speak wdth you. 

Pandarus. Where ? 290 

Boy. At your own house ; there he unarms him. 

Pandarus. Good boy, tell him I come. — \Exit 
Boy'\ I doubt he be hurt. — Fare ye well, good niece. 

Cressida. Adieu, uncle. 

Pandarus. I '11 be with you, niece, by and by. 

Cressida. To bring, uncle ? 

Pandarus. Ay, a token from Troilus. 

Cressida. By the same token, you are a bawd. — 

\Exit Pandarus. 
Words, vows, gifts, tears, and love's full sacrifice, 
He offers in another's enterprise ; 300 

But more in Troilus thousand-fold I see 
Than in the glass of Bandar's praise may be. 
Yet hold I off. Women are angels, wooing ; 
Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing. 
That she belov'd knows nought that knows not this, ■ — 
Men prize the thing ungain'd more than it is ; 
That she was never yet that ever knew 
Love got so sweet as when desire did sue. 
Therefore this maxim out of love I teach, — 
Achievement is command ; ungain'd, beseech. 310 

TROILUS — 4 



50 Troilus and Cressida [Act I 

Then though my heart's content firm love doth bear, 
Nothing of that shall from mine eyes appear. [^Exeunf. 

Scene III. The Grecian Camp. Before Agamemnon' s 

Tent 

Sennet. Enter Agamemnon, Nestor, Ulysses, Mene- 
LAUS, and others 

Agamemnon. Princes, 
What grief hath set the jaundice on your cheeks ? 
The ample proposition that hope makes 
In all designs begun on earth below 
Fails in the promis'd largeness ; checks and disasters 
Grow in the veins of actions highest rear'd. 
As knots, by the conflux of meeting sap, 
Infect the sound pine, and divert his grain 
Tortive and errant from his course of growth. 
Nor, princes, is it matter new to us lo 

That we come short of our suppose so far 
That after seven years' siege yet Troy walls stand ; 
Sith every action that hath gone before. 
Whereof we have record, trial did draw 
Bias and thwart, not answering the aim 
And that unbodied figure of the thought 
That gave 't surmised shape. Why then, you princes. 
Do you with cheeks abash 'd behold our works. 
And think them shames, which are indeed nought else 
But the protractive trials of great Jove 20 

To find persistive constancy in men ? 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 51 

The fineness of which metal is not found 

In fortune's love ; for then the bold and coward, 

The wise and fool, the artist and unread, 

The hard and soft, seem all affin'd and kin ; 

But, in the wind and tempest of her frown, 

Distinction, with a broad and powerful fan. 

Puffing at all, winnows the light away. 

And what hath mass or matter by itself 

Lies rich in virtue and unmingled. 30 

Nestor. With due observance of thy godlike seat, 
Great Agamemnon, Nestor shall apply 
Thy latest words. In the reproof of chance 
Lies the true proof of men ; the sea being smooth, 
How many shallow bauble boats dare sail 
Upon her patient breast, making their w^ay 
With those of nobler bulk ! 
But let the ruffian Boreas once enrage 
The gentle Thetis, and anon behold 
The strong-ribb'd bark through liquid mountains cut, 
Bounding between the two moist elements, 41 

Like Perseus' horse, — where 's then the saucy boat 
Whose weak untimber'd sides but even now 
Co-rivall'd greatness ? Either to harbour fled 
Or made a toast for Neptune. Even so 
Doth valour's show and valour's worth divide 
In storms of fortune, for in her ray and brightness 
The herd hath more annoyance by the brize 
Than by the tiger ; but when the splitting wind 
Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks, 50 



52 Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

And flies fled under shade, why, then the thing of 

courage 
As rous'd with rage with rage doth sympathize, 
And with an accent tun'd in selfsame key 
Rechides to chiding fortune. 

Ulysses. Agamemnon, 

Thou great commander, nerve and bone of Greece, 
Heart of our numbers, soul and only spirit. 
In whom the tempers and the minds of all 
Should be shut up, hear what Ulysses speaks. 
Besides the applause and approbation 
The which, — \To Againemnoit] most mighty for thy 

place and sway, — 60 

\^To Nestor] And thou most reverend for thy stretch'd- 

out life, — 
I give to both your speeches, which were such 
As Agamemnon and the hand of Greece 
Should hold up high in brass, and such again 
As venerable Nestor, hatch'd in silver, 
Should with a bond of air, strong as the axletree 
On which heaven rides, knit all the Greekish ears 
To his experienc'd tongue, — yet let it please both, — 
Thou great, and wise, — to hear Ulysses speak. 

Agajneninoii. Speak, Prince of Ithaca ; and be 't of 

less expect 7° 

That matter needless, of importless burden, 
Divide thy lips, than we are confident, 
When rank Thersites opes his mastic jaws, 
We shall hear music, wit, and oracle. 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 53 

Ulysses. Troy, yet upon his basis, had been down, 
And the great Hector's sword had lack'd a master, 
But for these instances. 
The specialty of rule hath been neglected ; 
And, look, how many Grecian tents do stand 
Hollow upon this plain, so many hollow factions. 80 

When that the general is not like the hive 
To whom the foragers shall all repair, 
What honey is expected ? Degree being vizarded, 
The unworthiest shows as fairly in the mask. 
The heavens themselves, the planets, and this centre 
Observe degree, priority, and place, 
Insisture, course, proportion, season, form. 
Office, and custom, in all line of order ; 
And therefore is the glorious planet Sol 
In noble eminence enthron'd and spher'd 90 

Amidst the other, whose medicinable eye 
Corrects the ill aspects of planets evil, 
And posts, like the commandment of a king. 
Sans check to good and bad. But when the planets 
In evil mixture to disorder wander. 
What plagues and what portents, what mutiny ! 
What raging of the sea, shaking of earth. 
Commotion of the winds, frights, changes, horrors. 
Divert and crack, rend and deracinate 
The unity and married calm of states 100 

Quite from their fixure ! O, when degree is shak'd, 
Which is the ladder to all high designs. 
Then enterprise is sick ! How could communities, 



54 Troilus and Cressida [Act I 

Degrees in schools, and brotherhoods m cities, 

Peaceful commerce from dividable shores, 

The primogenity and due of birth, 

Prerogative of age, crowns, sceptres, laurels, 

But by degree stand in authentic place ? 

Take but degree away, untune that string. 

And, hark, what discord follows ! each thing meets no 

In mere oppugn ancy : the bounded waters 

Should lift their bosoms higher than the shores. 

And make a sop of all this solid globe ; 

Strength should be lord of imbecility, 

And the rude son should strike his father dead ; 

Force should be right ; or rather, right and wrong. 

Between whose endless jar justice resides. 

Should lose their names, and so should justice too. 

Then every thing includes itself in power, 

Power into will, will into appetite ; 120 

And appetite, an universal wolf. 

So doubly seconded with will and power. 

Must make perforce an universal prey. 

And last eat up himself. Great Agamemnon, 

This chaos, when degree is suffocate, 

Follows the choking. 

And this neglection of degree it is 

That by a pace goes backward, with a purpose 

It hath to climb. The general 's disdain 'd 

By him one step below, he by the next, 130 

That next by him beneath : so every step, 

Exampled by the first pace that is sick 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 55 

Of his superior, grows to an envious fever 

Of pale and bloodless emulation ; 

And 't is this fever that keeps Troy on foot, 

Not her own sinews. To end a tale of length, 

Troy in our weakness stands, not in her strength. 

Nestor. Most wisely hath Ulysses here discover 'd 
The fever whereof all our power is sick. 

Agamemnon. The nature of the sickness found, 
Ulysses, 140 

What is the remedy ? 

Ulysses. The great Achilles, whom opinion crowns 
The sinew and the forehand of our host, 
Having his ear full of his airy fame. 
Grows dainty of his worth, and in his tent 
Lies mocking our designs. With him Patroclus 
Upon a lazy bed the livelong day 
Breaks scurril jests, 

And with ridiculous and awkward action — 
Which, slanderer, he imitation calls — 150 

He pageants us. Sometime, great Agamemnon, 
Thy topless deputation he puts on. 
And, like a strutting player, whose conceit 
Lies in his hamstring, and doth think it rich 
To hear the wooden dialogue and sound 
'Twixt his stretch'd footing and the scaffoldage, — 
Such to-be-pitied and o'er-wrested seeming 
He acts thy greatness in ; and when he speaks, 
'T is like a chime a-mending, with terms unsquar'd, 
Which, from the tongue of roaring Typhon dropp'd, 



56 Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

Would seem hyperboles. At this fusty stuff 161 

The large Achilles, on his press'd bed lolling, 

From his deep chest laughs out a loud applause, 

Cries ' Excellent ! 't is Agamemnon just. 

Now play me Nestor ; hem, and stroke thy beard, 

As he being dress'd to some oration.' 

That 's done, as near as the extremest ends 

Of parallels, as like as Vulcan and his wife ; 

Yet god Achilles still cries ' Excellent ! 

'T is Nestor right. Now play him me, Patroclus, 170 

Arming to answer in a night alarm.' 

And then, forsooth, the faint defects of age 

Must be the scene of mirth, — to cough and spit, 

And, with a palsy-fumbling on his gorget. 

Shake in and out the rivet, — and at this sport 

Sir Valour dies, cries ' O, enough, Patroclus ; 

Or give me ribs of steel ! I shall split all 

In pleasure of my spleen.' And in this fashion, 

All our abilities, gifts, natures, shapes, 

Severals and generals of grace exact, 180 

Achievements, plots, orders, preventions, 

Excitements to the field, or speech for truce, 

Success or loss, what is or is not, serves 

As stuff for these two to make paradoxes. 

Nestor. And in the imitation of these twain — 
Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns 
With an imperial voice — many are infect. 
Ajax is grown self-will'd, and bears his head 
In such a rein, in full as proud a place 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 57 

As broad Achilles, keeps his tent like him, 190 

Makes factious feasts, rails on our state of war, 

Bold as an oracle, and sets Thersites — 

A slave whose gall coins slanders like a mint — 

To match us in comparisons with dirt, 

To weaken and discredit our exposure, 

How rank soever rounded in with danger, 

Ulysses. They tax our policy, and call it cowardice, 
Count wisdom as no member of the war. 
Forestall prescience, and esteem no act 
But that of hand ; the still and mental parts, 200 

That do contrive how many hands shall strike 
When fitness calls them on, and know by measure 
Of their observant toil the enemies' weight, — 
Why, this hath not a finger's dignity. 
They call this bed-work, mappery, closet-war ; 
So that the ram that batters down the wall, 
For the great swing and rudeness of his poise. 
They place before his hand that made the engine, 
Or those that with the fineness of their souls 
By reason guide his execution. 210 

Nestor. Let this be granted, and Achilles' horse 
Makes many Thetis' sons. \A tucket. 

Agafnemnon. What trumpet? look, Menelaus. 

Menelaus. From Troy. 

Enter ^neas 

Agamemnon. What would you fore our tent ? 
^neas. Is this great Agamemnon's tent, I pray you? 



58 Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

Agamemnon. Even this. 

JEneas. May one that is a herald and a prince 
Do a fair message to his kingly ears ? 

Agamemnon. With surety stronger than Achilles' arm 
Fore all the Greekish heads, which with one voice 221 
Call Agamemnon head and general. 

^neas. Fair leave and large security. How may 
A stranger to those most imperial looks 
Know them from eyes of other mortals ? 

Agamemnon. How ! 

^neas. Ay ; 
I ask, that I might waken reverence, 
And bid the cheek be ready with a blush 
Modest as morning when she coldly eyes 
The youthful Phoebus. 230 

Which is that god in office, guiding men ? 
Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon ? 

Agamemnon. This Trojan scorns us ; or the men of 
Troy 
Are ceremonious courtiers. 

y^neas. Courtiers as free, as debonair, unarm'd. 
As bending angels ; that 's their fame in peace. 
But when they would seem soldiers, they have galls, 
Good arms, strong joints, true swords ; and, Jove's 

accord, 
Nothing so full of heart. But peace, ^neas ! 
Peace, Trojan ! lay thy finger on thy lips ! 240 

The worthiness of praise distains his worth, 
If that the prais'd himself bring the praise forth, 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 59 

But what the repining enemy commends^ 
That breath fame blows ; that praise, sole pure, tran- 
scends. 

Agame7nnon. Sir, you of Troy, call you yourself 
apneas ? 

^neas. Ay, Greek, that is my name. 

Agamemnon. What 's your affair, I pray you ? 

^neas. Sir, pardon ; 't is for Agamemnon's ears. 

Agamemnon. He hears nought privately that comes 
from Troy. 

^neas. Nor I from Troy come not to whisper him ; 
I bring a trumpet to awake his ear, 251 

To set his sense on the attentive bent, 
And then to speak. 

Agamejnnon. Speak frankly as the wind. 

It is not Agamemnon's sleeping hour ; 
That thou shalt know, Trojan, he is awake, 
He tells thee so himself. 

^neas. Trumpet, blow loud, 

Send thy brass voice through all these lazy tents ; 
And every Greek of mettle, let him know, 
What Troy means fairly shall be spoke aloud. — 

\_Trumpet sounds. 
We have, great Agamemnon, here in Troy 260 

A prince called Hector, — Priam is his father, — 
Who in this dull and long-continued truce 
Is rusty grown. He bade me take a trumpet, 
And to this purpose speak : Kings, princes, lords ! 
If there be one among the fair'st of Greece 



6o Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

That holds his honour higher than his ease, 

That seeks his praise more than he fears his peril, 

That knows his valour, and knows not his fear, 

That loves his mistress more than in confession 

With truant vows to her own lips he loves, 270 

And dare avow^ her beauty and her worth 

In other arms than hers, — to him this challenge. 

Hector, in view of Trojans and of Greeks, 

Shall make it good, or do his best to do it. 

He hath a lady, wiser, fairer, truer. 

Than ever Greek did compass in his arms. 

And will to-morrow with his trumpet call 

Midway between your tents and walls of Troy, 

To rouse a Grecian that is true in love. 

If any come. Hector shall honour him ; 280 

If none, he '11 say in Troy when he retires. 

The Grecian dames are sunburnt and not worth 

The splinter of a lance. Even so much. 

Agamemnon. This shall be told our lovers. Lord 
^neas. 
If none of them have soul in such a kind, 
We left them all at home ; but we are soldiers, 
And may that soldier a mere recreant prove 
That means not, hath not, or is not in love ! 
If then one is, or hath, or means to be, 
That one meets Hector; if none else, I am he. 290 

Nestor. Tell him of Nestor, one that was a man 
When Hector's grandsire suck'd ; he is old now. 
But if there be not in our Grecian host 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 6i 

One noble man that hath one spark of fire 

To answer for his love, tell him from nie 

I '11 hide my silver beard in a gold beaver, 

And in my vantbrace put this wither'd brawn, 

And meeting him will tell him that my lady 

Was fairer than his grandam and as chaste 

As may be in the world. His youth in flood, 300 

I '11 prove this truth with my three drops of blood. 

^neas. Now heavens forbid such scarcity of youth ! 

Ulysses. Amen. 

Agamemnon. Fair Lord ^neas, let me touch your 
hand ; 
To our pavihon shall I lead you, sir. 
Achilles shall have word of this intent ; 
So shall each lord of Greece, from tent to tent. 
Yourself shall feast with us before you go. 
And find the welcome of a noble foe. 

[Exeunt ail but Ulysses and Nestor. 

Ulysses. Nestor ! 310 

Nestor. What says Ulysses ? 

Ulysses. I have a young conception in my brain ; 
Be you my time to bring it to some shape. 

Nestor. What is 't ? 

Ulysses. This 't is : 
Blunt wedges rive hard knots ; the seeded pride 
That hath to this maturity blown up 
In rank Achilles must or now be cropp'd, 
Or, shedding, breed a nursery of like evil, 
To overbulk us all. 



62 Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

Nestor. Well, and how ? 320 

Ulysses, This challenge that the gallant Hector sends, 
However it is spread in general name, 
Relates in purpose only to Achilles. 

Nestor. The purpose is perspicuous even as substance, 
Whose grossness little characters sum up ; 
And, in the publication, make no strain 
But that Achilles, were his brain as barren 
As banks of Libya, — though, Apollo knows, 
'T is dry enough, — will, with great speed of judgment. 
Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose 330 

Pointing on him. 

Ulysses. And wake him to the answer, think you ? 

Nestor. Yes, 't is most meet ; whom may you else 
oppose. 
That can from Hector bring his honour off, 
If not Achilles ? Though 't be a sportful combat. 
Yet in the trial much opinion dwells. 
For here the Trojans taste our dear'st repute 
With their fin'st palate, and trust to me, Ulysses, 
Our imputation shall be oddly pois'd 
In this wild action ; for the success, 340 

Although particular, shall give a scantling 
Of good or bad unto the general. 
And in such indexes, although small pricks 
To their subsequent volumes, there is seen 
The baby figure of the giant mass 
Of things to come at large. It is suppos'd 
He that meets Hector issues from our choice, 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 6^ 

And choice, being mutual act of all our souls, 

Makes merit her election, and doth boil. 

As 'twere from forth us all, a man distill'd 350 

Out of our virtues ; who miscarrying, 

What heart receives from hence the conquering part, 

To steel a strong opinion to themselves ? 

Which entertain 'd, limbs are his instruments, 

In no less working than are swords and bows 

Directive by the limbs. 

Ulysses. Give pardon to my speech : 
Therefore 't is meet Achilles meet not Hector. 
Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares, 
And think, perchance, they '11 sell ; if not, 360 

The lustre of the better yet to show 
Shall show the better. Do not consent 
That ever Hector and Achilles meet ; 
For both our honour and our shame in this 
Are dogg'd with tvv^o strange followers. 

Nestor. I see them not with my old eyes ; what are 
they? 

Ulysses. What glory our Achilles shares from Hector, 
Were he not proud, we all should share with him ; 
But he already is too insolent, 

And we were better parch in Afric sun 370 

Than in the pride and salt scorn of his eyes. 
Should he scape Hector fair. If he were foil'd. 
Why, then we did our main opinion crush 
In taint of our best man. No, make a lottery. 
And by device let blockish Ajax draw 



64 Troilus and Cressida [Act i 

The sort to fight with Hector ; among ourselves, 

Give him allowance for the better man, 

For that will physic the great Myrmidon 

Who broils in loud applause, and make him fall 

His crest that prouder than blue Iris bends. 380 

If the dull brainless Ajax come safe off, 

We '11 dress him up in voices ; if he fail. 

Yet go we under our opinion still 

That we have better men. But, hit or miss, 

Our project's life this shape of sense assumes : 

Ajax employ'd plucks down Achilles' plumes. 

Nestor. Ulysses, 
Now I begin to relish thy advice, 
And I will give a taste of it forthwith 
To Agamemnon ; go we to him straight. 390 

Two curs shall tame each other ; pride alone 
Must tarre the mastiffs on, as 't were their bone. 

\Exeunt, 




Enter Cassandra (Scene 2) 



ACT II 

Scene I. A Part of the Grecian Camp 
Enter Ajax and Thersites 

Ajax. Thersites ! 

Thersites. Agamemnon — how if he had boils? 
full, all over, generally? 
Ajax. Thersites ! 
TRoiLus — 5 65 



66 Troilus and Cressida [Act il 

Thersites. And those boils did rim ? say so, did not 
the general run then ? were not that a botchy core ? 

AJax. Dog ! 

Thersites. Then would come some matter from 
him ; I see none now. 

AJax. Thou bitch-wolf's son, canst thou not hear ? 
\_Beatmg him'] Feel, then. n 

Thei'sites. The plague of Greece upon thee, thou 
mongrel beef-witted lord ! 

AJax. Speak then, thou vinewed'st leaven, speak ! 
I will beat thee into handsomeness. 

Thersites. I shall sooner rail thee into wit and 
holiness ; but wl think thy horse will sooner con an 
oration than thou learn a prayer without book. Thou 
canst strike, canst thou ? a red murrain o' thy jade's 
tricks ! 20 

AJax. Toadstool, learn me the proclamation. 

Thersites. Dost thou think I have no sense, thou 
strikest me thus ? 

AJax. The proclamation ! 

Thersites. Thou art proclaimed a fool, I think. 

AJax. Do not, porpentine, do not ! my fingers itch. 

The?'sites. I would thou didst itch from head to 
foot and I had the scratching of thee ; I would make 
thee the loathsomest scab in Greece. When thou 
art forth in the incursions, thou strikest as slow as 
another. 31 

AJax. I say, the proclamation ! 

Thersites^ Thou grumblest and railest every hour 



Scene I] Troilus and Cressida 67 

on Achilles, and thou art as full of envy at his great- 
ness as Cerberus is at Proserpina's beauty, ay, that 
thou barkest at him. 

Ajax. Mistress Thersites ! 

Thersites. Thou shouldst strike him. 

Ajax. Cobloaf ! 

Thersites. He would pun thee into shivers with his 
fisL, as a sailor breaks a biscuit. 41 

Ajax. ^Beating hwi\ You whoreson cur ! 

Thersites. Do, do. 

Ajax. Thou stool for a witch ! 

Thersites. Ay, do, do ; thou sodden-witted lord ! 
thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows ; 
an assinego may tutor thee. Thou scurvy-valiant 
ass ! thou art here but to thrash Trojans ; and thou 
art bought and sold among those of any wit, like a 
barbarian slave. If thou use to beat me, I will begin 
at thy heel, and tell what thou art by inches, thou 
thing of no bowels, thou ! 52 

Ajax. You dog ! 

Thersites. You scurvy lord ! 

Ajax. \B eating hivi\ You cur ! 

Thersites. Mars his idiot ! do, rudeness ; do, 
camel, do, do ! 

Enter Achilles and Patroclus 

Achilles. Why, how now, Ajax ! wherefore do 
you thus ? — How now, Thersites ! what' s the mat- 
ter, man ? 60 



68 Troilus and Cressida [Act ii 

Ther sites. You see him there, do you ? 

Achilles. Ay ; what 's the matter ? 

Thersites. Nay, look upon him. 

Achilles. So I do ; what 's the matter ? 

Thersites. Nay, but regard him well. 

Achilles. Well ! why, I do so. 

Thersites. But yet you look not well upon him ; 
for, whosoever you take him to be, he is Ajax. 

Achilles. I know that, fool. 

Thersites. Ay, but that fool knows not himself. 70 

Ajax. Therefore I beat thee. 

Thersites. Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he 
utters ! his evasions have ears thus long. I have 
bobbed his brain more than he has beat my bones ; 
I will buy nine sparrows for a penny, and his pia 
mater is not worth the ninth part of a sparrow. 
This lord, Achilles, — Ajax, who wears his wit in his 
belly and his guts in his head, — I '11 tell you what I 
say of him. 

Achilles. What? 80 

Thersites. I say, this Ajax — [Ajax offers to beat him. 

Achilles. Nay, good Ajax. 

Thersites. Has not so much wit — 

Achilles. Nay, I must hold you. 

Thersites. As will stop the eye of Helen's needle, 
for whom he comes to fight. 

Achilles. Peace, fool ! 

Thersites. I would have peace and quietness, but 
the fool will not, — he there, that he, look you there. 



Scene I] Troilus and Cressida 69 

Ajax. O thou damned cur ! I shall — 90 

Achilles. Will you set your wit to a fool's ? 

Thersites. No, I warrant you ; for a fool's will 
shame it. 

Patroclus. Good words, Thersites. 

Achilles. What 's the quarrel ? 

Ajax. I bade the vile owl go learn me the tenor 
of the proclamation, and he rails upon me. 

Thersites. I serve thee not. 

Ajax. Well, go to, go to. 

Thersites. I serve here voluntary. 100 

Achilles. Your last service was sufferance, 'twas 
not voluntary ; no man is beaten voluntary. Ajax 
was here the voluntary, and you as under an im- 
press. 

Thersites. E'en so ; a great deal of your wit, too, 
lies in your sinews, or else there be liars. Hector 
shall have a great catch if he knock out either of 
your brains ; a' were as good crack a fusty nut with 
no kernel. 

Achilles. W^hat, with me too, Thersites ? iio 

Thersites. There 's Ulysses and old Nestor, whose 
wit was mouldy ere your grandsires had nails on 
their toes, yoke you like draught-oxen and make you 
plough up the wars. 

Achilles. What, what? 

Thersites. Yes, good sooth ! to, Achilles ! — to, 
Ajax ! to ! 

Ajax. I shall cut out your tongue. 



yo Troilus and Cressida [Act il 

Thersites. 'T is no matter ; I shall speak as much 
as thou afterwards. 120 

Patroclus. No more words, Thersites ; peace ! 

Thersites. I will hold my peace when Achilles' 
brach bids me, shall I ? 

Achilles. There 's for you, Patroclus. 

Thersites. I will see you hanged, like clotpolls, 
ere I come any more to your tents ; I will keep 
where there is wit stirring, and leave the faction of 
fools. \Exit. 

Patroclus. A good riddance. 

Achilles. Marry, this, sir, is proclaim 'd through all 
our host : 130 

That Hector, by the fifth hour of the sun. 
Will with a trumpet 'twixt our tents and Troy 
To-morrow morning call some knight to arms 
That hath a stomach ; and such a one that dare 
Maintain — I know not what ; 't is trash. Farewell. 

Ajax. Farewell. Who shall answer him ? 

Achilles. I know not. 'T is put to lottery ; otherwise 
He knew^ his man. 

Ajax. O, meaning you. I will go learn more of it. 

\Exeunt. 

Scene II. Troy. A Room in Priam'' s Palace 

Enter Priam, Hector, Troilus, Paris, and Helenus 

Priam. After so many hours, lives, speeches spent, 
Thus once again says Nestor from the Greeks : 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 71 

' Deliver Helen, and all damage else — 

As honour, loss of time, travail, expense. 

Wounds, friends, and what else dear that is consum'd 

In hot digestion of this cormorant war — 

Shall be struck off.' — Hector, what say you to 't ? 

Hecto7'. Though no man lesser fears the Greeks than I 
As far as toucheth my particular, 

Yet, dread Priam, 10 

There is no lady of more softer bowels. 
More spongy to suck in the sense of fear. 
More ready to cry out ' Who knows what follows ? ' 
Than Hector is. The wound of peace is surety, 
Surety secure ; but modest doubt is call'd 
The beacon of the wise, the tent that searches 
To the bottom of the worst. Let Helen go. 
Since the first sword was drawn about this question, 
Every tithe soul, 'mongst many thousand dismes, 
Hath been as dear as Helen, — I mean, of ours. 20 

If we have lost so many tenths of ours. 
To guard a thing not ours, nor worth to us, 
Had it our name, the value of one ten. 
What merit 's in that reason which denies 
The yielding of her up ? 

Troilus. Fie, fie, my brother ! 

Weigh you the worth and honour of a king 
So great as our dread father in a scale 
Of common ounces ? will you with counters sum 
The past-proportion of his infinite. 
And buckle in a waist most fathomless 30 



72 Troilus and Cressida [Act ii 

With spans and inches so diminutive 

As fears and reasons ? fie, for godly shame ! 

Helenus. No marvel, though you bite so sharp at 
reasons, 
You are so empty of them. Should not our father 
Bear the great sway of his affairs with reasons, 
Because your speech hath none that tells him so ? 

Ti^oilus. You are for dreams and slumbers, brother 
priest ; 
You fur your gloves with reason. Here are your 

reasons : 
You know an enemy intends you harm, 
You know^ a sword employ'd is perilous, ' 40 

And reason flies the object of all harm. 
Who marvels then, when Helenus beholds 
A Grecian and his sword, if he do set 
The very wings of reason to his heels. 
And fly like chidden Mercury from Jove, 
Or like a star disorb'd ? — Nay, if we talk of reason. 
Let 's shut our gates and sleep. Manhood and honour 
Should have hare hearts, would they but fat their 

thoughts 
With this cramm'd reason ; reason and respect 
Make livers pale and lustihood deject. 50 

Hector. Brother, she is not worth what she doth cost 
The holding. 

T7'oilus. What is aught but as 't is valued ? 

Hector. But value dwells not in particular will ; 
It holds his estimate and dignity 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 73 

As well wherein 't is precious of itself 

As in the prizer. 'T is mad idolatry 

To make the service greater than the god ; 

And the will dotes that is attributive 

To what infectiously itself affects, 

Without some image of the affected merit. 60 

Troilus. I take to-day a wife, and my election 
Is led on in the conduct of my will ; 
My will enkindled by mine eyes and ears. 
Two traded pilots 'twixt the dangerous shores 
Of will and judgment. How may I avoid, 
Although my will distaste what it elected, 
The wife I chose ? there can be no evasion 
To blench from this, and to stand firm by honour. 
We turn not back the silks upon the merchant 
When we have soil'd them, nor the remainder viands 
We do not throw in unrespective sieve 71 

Because we now are full. It was thought meet 
Paris should do some vengeance on the Greeks. 
Your breath of full consent bellied his sails ; 
The seas and winds, old wranglers, took a truce 
And did him service ; he touch 'd the ports desir'd, 
And for an old aunt whom the Greeks held captive 
He brought a Grecian queen, whose youth and fresh- 
ness 
Wrinkles Apollo's, and makes stale the morning. 
Why keep we her ? the Grecians keep our aunt. 80 

Is she worth keeping ? why, she is a pearl. 
Whose price hath launch 'd above a thousand ships 



74 Troilus and Cressida [Act ii 

And turn'd crown'd kings to merchants. 

If you '11 avouch 't was wisdom Paris went — 

As you must needs, for you all cried ' Go, go,' — 

If you '11 confess he brought home noble prize — 

As you must needs, for you all clapp'd your hands 

And cried ' inestimable ! ' — why do you now 

The issue of your proper wisdoms rate, 

And do a deed that fortune never did, — 90 

Beggar the estimation which you priz'd 

Richer than sea and land ? O, theft most base. 

That we have stolen what we do fear to keep 1 

But, thieves, unworthy of a thing so stolen, 

That in their country did them that disgrace 

We fear to warrant in our native place ! 

Cassandra. [ Withiii^ Cry, Trojans, cry ! 

Priaj7i. What noise ? what shriek is this ? 

Troilus. 'T is our mad sister, I do know her voice. 

Cassandra. [ Within'\ Cry, Trojans ! 

Hector. It is Cassandra. 100 

Enter Cassandra, raving 

Cassandra. Cry, Trojans, cry ! lend me ten thou- 
sand eyes. 
And I will fill them with prophetic tears. 
Hector. Peace, sister, peace ! 

Cassandra. Virgins and boys, mid-age and wrinkled 
eld. 
Soft infancy, that nothing canst but cry. 
Add to my clamours ! let us pay betimes 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 75 

A moiety of that mass of moan to come. 

Cry, Trojans, cry ! practise your eyes with tears ! 

Troy must not be, nor goodly I lion stand ; 

Our firebrand brother, Paris, burns us all. no 

Cry, Trojans, cry ! a Helen and a woe ! 

Cry, cry ! Troy burns, or else let Helen go. \Exit. 

Hector, Now, youthful Troilus, do not these high 
strains 
Of divination in our sister work 
Some touches of remorse ? or is your blood 
So madly hot that no discourse of reason. 
Nor fear of bad success in a bad cause, 
Can qualify the same ? 

Troilus. Why, brother Hector, 

We may not think the justness of each act 
Such and no other than event doth form it, 120 

Nor once deject the courage of our minds 
Because Cassandra 's mad ; her brain-sick raptures 
Cannot distaste the goodness of a quarrel 
Which hath our several honours all engag'd 
To make it gracious. For my private part, 
I am no more touch 'd than all Priam's sons ; 
And Jove forbid there should be done amongst us 
Such things as might offend the weakest spleen 
To fight for and maintain ! 

Paris. Else might the world convince of levity 130 
As well my undertakings as your counsels ; 
But I attest the gods, your full consent 
Gave wings to my propension and cut off 



76 Troilus and Cressida [Act il 

All fears attending on so dire a project. 

For what, alas, can these my single arms ? 

What propugnation is in one man's valour, 

To stand the push and enmity of those 

This quarrel would excite ? Yet, I protest, 

Were I alone to pass the difficulties. 

And had as ample power as I have will, 140 

Paris should ne'er retract what he hath done 

Nor faint in the pursuit. 

Priam. Paris, you speak 

Like one besotted on your sweet delights. 
You have the honey still, but these the gall ; 
So to be valiant is no praise at all. 

Paris. Sir, I propose not merely to myself 
The pleasures such a beauty brings with it ; 
But I would have the soil of her fair rape 
Wip'd off in honourable keeping her. 
What treason were it to the ransack'd queen, 150 

Disgrace to your great w^orths and shame to me, 
Now to deliver her possession up 
On terms of base compulsion ! Can it be 
That so degenerate a strain as this 
Should once set footing in your generous bosoms? 
There 's not the meanest spirit on our party 
Without a heart to dare or sword to draw 
When Helen is defended, nor none so noble 
Whose life were ill bestow'd or death unfam'd 
Where Helen is the subject ; then, I say, 160 

Well may we fight for her whom, we know well, 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 77 

The world's large spaces cannot parallel. 

Hector. Paris and Troilus, you have both said well, 
And on the cause and question now in hand 
Have gloz'd, but superficially ; not much 
Unlike young men, whom Aristotle thought 
Unfit to hear moral philosophy. 
The reasons you allege do more conduce 
To the hot passion of distemper'd blood 
Than to make up a free determination 170 

'Twixt right and wrong ; for pleasure and revenge 
Have ears more deaf than adders to the voice 
Of any true decision. Nature craves 
All dues be render'd to their owners ; now, 
What nearer debt in all humanity 
Than wife is to the husband ? If this law 
Of nature be corrupted through affection, 
And that great minds, of partial indulgence 
To their benumbed wills, resist the same, 
There is a law in each well-order'd nation 180 

To curb those raging appetites that are 
Most disobedient and refractory. 
If Helen then be wife to Sparta's king, 
As it is known she is, these moral laws 
Of nature and of nations speak aloud 
To have her back return 'd ; thus to persist 
In doing wrong extenuates not wrong, 
But makes it much more heavy. Hector's opinion 
Is this in way of truth ; yet ne'ertheless, 
My spritely brethren, I propend to you 190 



78 Troilus and Cressida [Act 11 

In resolution to keep Helen still, 

For 't is a cause that hath no mean dependence 

Upon our joint and several dignities. 

Troilus. Why, there you touch 'd the life of our 
design. 
Were it not glory that we more affected 
Than the performance of our heaving spleens, 
I would not wish a drop of Trojan blood 
Spent more in her defence. But, worthy Hector, 
She is a theme of honour and renown, 
A spur to valiant and magnanimous deeds, 200 

Whose present courage may beat down our foes, 
And fame in time to come canonize us ; 
For, I presume, brave Hector would not lose 
So rich advantage of a promis'd glory 
As smiles upon the forehead of this action 
For the wide world's revenue. 

Hector. I am yours, 

You valiant offspring of great Priamus. — 
I have a roisting challenge sent amongst 
The dull and factious nobles of the Greeks 
Will strike amazement to their drowsy spirits. 210 

I was advertis'd their great general slept, 
Whilst emulation in the army crept ; 
This, I presume, will wake him. [Exeunt. 



Scene III] . Troilus and Cressida 79 

Scene III. The Grecian Camp. Before Achilles' Tent 

Enter Thersites, solus 

Thersites. How now, Thersites ! what, lost in the 
labyrinth of thy fury ! Shall the elephant Ajax carry 
it thus ? He beats me, and I rail at him. O, worthy 
satisfaction ! would it were otherwise ; that I could 
beat him, whilst he railed at me. 'Sfoot, I '11 learn 
to conjure and raise devils but I '11 see some issue 
of my spiteful execrations. Then -there 's Achilles, 
a rare enginer ! If Troy be not taken till these two 
undermine it, the walls will stand till they fall of 
themselves. — O thou great thunder-darter of Olym- 
pus, forget that thou art Jove, the king of gods, and, 
Mercury, lose all the serpentine craft of thy cadu- 
ceus, if ye take not that little, little, less than little 
wit from them that they have ! which short-armed 
ignorance itself knows is so abundant scarce it will 
not in circumvention deliver a fly from a spider, 
without drawing their massy irons and cutting the 
web. After this, the vengeance on the whole camp ! 
or, rather, the bone-ache ! for that, methinks, is the 
curse dependent on those that war for a placket. I 
have said my prayers, and devil Envy say Amen ! — 
What ho ! my Lord Achilles ! 22 

Enter Patroclus 

Patroclus. Who 's there ? Thersites ! Good Ther- 
sites, come in and rail. 



8o Troilus and Cressida [Act II 

Thersites. If I could have remembered a gilt coun- 
terfeit, thou wouldst not have slipped out of my con- 
templation, but it is no matter ; thyself upon thyself ! 
The common curse of mankind, folly and ignorance, 
be thine in great revenue ! heaven bless thee from a 
tutor, and discipline come not near thee ! Let thy 
blood be thy direction till thy death ! then if she 
that lays thee out says thou art a fair corse, I '11 
be sworn and sworn upon 't she never shrouded 
any but lazars. Amen. — Where 's Achilles ? 34 

Patroclus. What, art thou devout? wast thou in 
prayer ? 

Thersites. Ay ; the heavens hear me ! 

Enter Achilles 

Achilles. Who 's there ? 

Patroclus. Thersites, my lord. 

Achilles. Where, where ? — Art thou come ? why, 
my cheese, my digestion, why hast thou not served 
thyself in to my table so many meals ? Come, what 's 
Agamemnon ? 

Thersites. Thy commander, Achilles. — Then tell 
me, Patroclus, what 's Achilles ? 

Patroclus. Thy lord, Thersites. Then tell me, I 
pray thee, what 's thyself ? 

Thersites. Thy knower, Patroclus. Then tell me, 
Patroclus, what art thou ? 

Patroclus. Thou mayst tell that knowest. 50 

Achilles. O, tell, tell ! 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 8i 

Thersites. I '11 decline the whole question. Aga- 
memnon commands Achilles ; Achilles is my lord ; 
I am Patroclus' knower, and Patroclus is a fool. 

Fatroclus. You rascal ! 

Thersites. Peace, fool ! I have not done. 

Achilles. He is a privileged man. — Proceed, 
Thersites. 

Thersites. Agamemnon is a fool ; Achilles is a 
fool ; Thersites is a fool ; and, as aforesaid, Patro- 
clus is a fool. 6i 

Achilles. Derive this ; come. 

Thersites. Agamemnon is a fool to offer to com- 
mand Achilles ; Achilles is a fool to be commanded 
of Agamemnon ; Thersites is a fool to serve such a 
fool ; and Patroclus is a fool positive. 

Patroclus. Why am I a fool ? 

Thersites. Make that demand of the prover. It 
suffices me thou art. Look you, who comes here ? 69 

Achilles. Patroclus, I '11 speak with nobody. — 
Come in with me, Thersites. \Exit. 

Thersites. Here is such patchery, such juggling, 
and such knavery ! all the argument is a cuckold and 
a whore ; a good quarrel to draw emulous factions 
and bleed to death upon ! Now, the dry serpigo on 
the subject ! and war and lechery confound all ! \Exit. 

Enter Agamemnon, Ulysses, Nestor, Diomedes, and 

AjAX 

Agamemnon. Where is Achilles ? 

TROILUS — 6 



82 Troilus and Cressida [Act ii 

Patroclus. Within his tent, but ill dispos'd, my 
lord. 78 

Agamemnon. L.et it be known to him that we are here. 
He shent our messengers ; and we lay by 
Our appertainments, visiting of him. 
Let him be told so, lest perchance he think 
We dare not move the question of our place, 
Or know not what we are. 

Patroclus. I shall say so to him. \Exit. 

Ulysses. We saw him at the opening of his tent ; 
He is not sick. 

Ajax. Yes, lion-sick, sick of proud heart. You 
may call it melancholy if you will favour the man, 
but, by my head, 't is pride ; but why, why ? let him 
show us the cause. — A word, my lord. 90 

yTakes Agamemnon aside. 

Nestor. What moves Ajax thus to bay at him ? 

Ulysses. Achilles hath inveigled his fool from him. 

Nestor. Who, Thersites ? 

Ulysses. He. 

Nestor. Then will Ajax lack matter, if he have 
lost his argument. 

Ulysses. No, you see, he is his argument that has 
his argument, Achilles. 

Nestor. All the better ; their fraction is more our 
wish than their faction, but it was a strong com- 
posure a fool could disunite. loi 

Ulysses. The amity that wisdom knits not, folly 
may easily untie. Here comes Patroclus. 



Scene iiij Troilus and Cressida 83 

Re-enter Patroclus 

Nestor. No Achilles with him. 

Ulysses. The elephant hath joints, but none for 
courtesy ; his legs are legs for necessity, not for 
flexure. 107 

Patroclus. Achilles bids me say he is much sorry 
If any thing more than your sport and pleasure 
Did move your greatness and this noble state 
To call upon him ; he hopes it is no other 
But for your health and your digestion sake, — 
An after-dinner's breath. 

Agamemnon. Hear you, Patroclus : 

We are too well acquainted with these answers ; 
But his evasion, wing'd thus swift with scorn, 
Cannot outfly our apprehensions. 
Much attribute he hath, and much the reason 
Why we ascribe it to him ; yet all his virtues, 
Not virtuously on his own part beheld. 
Do in our eyes begin to lose their gloss, 120 

Yea, like fair fruit in an unwholesome dish, 
Are like to rot untasted. Go and tell him 
We come to speak with him ; and you shall not sin 
If you do say we think him over-proud 
And under-honest, in self-assumption greater 
Than in the note of judgment ; and worthier than him- 
self 
Here tend the savage strangeness he puts on, 
Disguise the holy strength of their command, 



84 Troilus and Cressida [Act 11 

And underwrite in an observing kind 

His humorous predominance, yea, watch 130 

His pettish lunes, his ebbs, his flows, as if 

The passage and whole carriage of this action 

Rode on his tide. Go tell him this, and add 

That, if he overbold his price so much. 

We '11 none of him, but let him, like an engine 

Not portable, lie under this report, — 

' Bring action hither, this cannot go to war. 

A stirring dwarf we do allowance give 

Before a sleeping giant.' Tell him so. 139 

Patroclus. I shall, and bring his answer presently. 

S^Exit. 

Agamemnon. In second voice we '11 not be satisfied ; 
We come to speak with him. — Ulysses, enter you. 

\Exit Ulysses. 

Ajax. What is he more than another ? 

Agamemnon. No more than what he thinks he is. 

Ajax. Is he so much ? Do you not think he 
thinks himself a better man than I am. 

Agamemnon. No question. 

Ajax. Will you subscribe his thought, and say 
he is ? 149 

Agamemnon. No, noble Ajax ; you are as strong, 
as valiant, as wise, no less noble, much more gentle, 
and altogether more tractable. 

Ajax. Why should a man be proud ? How doth 
pride grow ? I know not what pride is. 

Agamemnon. Your mind is the clearer, Ajax, and 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 85 

your virtues the fairer. He that is proud eats up 
himself ; pride is his own glass, his own trumpet, his 
own chronicle, and whatever praises itself but in the 
deed devours the deed in the praise. 159 

Ajax. I do hate a proud man as I hate the engen- 
dering of toads. 

Nestor. [Aside] Yet he loves himself ; is 't not 
strange ? 

Re-enter Ulysses 

Ulysses. Achilles will not to the field to-morrow. 

Agamemnon. What 's his excuse ? 

Ulysses. He doth rely on none, 

But carries on the stream of his dispose 
Without observance or respect of any. 
In will peculiar and in self-admission. 

Agamemnon. Why will he not, upon our fair request, 
Untent his person and share the air with us ? 170 

Ulysses. Things small as nothing, for request's sake 
only. 
He makes important. Possess 'd he is with greatness, 
And speaks not to himself but with a pride 
That quarrels at self-breath ; imagin'd worth 
Holds in his blood such swoln and hot discourse 
That 'twixt his mental and his active parts 
Kingdom 'd Achilles in commotion rages 
And batters down himself. What should I say ? 
He is so plaguy proud that the death-tokens of it 
Cry 'No recovery,' 



86 Troilus and Cressida [Act ii 

Agamemnon. Let Ajax go to him. — i8o 

Dear lord, go you and greet him in his tent ; 
'T is said he holds you well, and will be led 
At your request a little from himself. 

Ulysses. O Agamemnon, let it not be so ! 
We 'II consecrate the steps that Ajax makes 
When they go from Achilles. Shall the proud lord 
That bastes his arrogance with his own seam, 
And never suffers matter of the world 
Enter his thoughts, save such as do revolve 
And ruminate himself, shall he be worshipp'd 190 

Of that we hold an idol more than he ? 
No, this thrice worthy and right valiant lord 
Must not so stale his palm, nobly acquir'd. 
Nor, by my will, assubjugate his merit. 
As amply titled as Achilles is. 
By going to Achilles. 
That were to enlard his fat-already pride, 
And add more coals to Cancer when he burns 
With entertaining great Hyperion. — 
This lord go to him ! Jupiter forbid, 200 

And say in thunder ' Achilles go to him ! ' 

Nestor. \Aside to Diomedes'\ O, this is w^ell ; he rubs 
the vein of him. 

Diomedes. [Aside to Nesto?-] And how his silence 
drinks up this applause ! 

Ajax. If I go to him, with my armed fist 
I '11 pash him o'er the face. 

Agamemnon. O, no, you shall not go! 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 87 

Ajax. An a' be proud with me, I '11 pheeze his pride. 
Let me go to him. 

Ulysses. Not for the worth that hangs upon our 
quarrel. 

Ajax. A paltry, insolent fellow ! 210 

Nestor. ^Aside] How he describes himself ! 

Ajax. Can he not be sociable ? 

Ulysses. \_Aside'\ The raven chides blackness. 

Ajax. I '11 let his humours blood. 

Agamemnon. ]^Aside'\ He will be the physician 
that should be the patient. 

Ajax. An all men were o' my mind, — 

Ulysses. \_Aside'] Wit would be out of fashion. 

Ajax. A' should not bear it so, a' should eat 
swords first. Shall pride carry it ? 220 

Nestor. [Aside'] An 't would, you 'd carry half. 

Ulysses. [Aside] A' would have ten shares. 

Ajax. I will knead him ; I '11 make him supple. 

Nestor. [Aside] He 's not yet through warm ; force 
him with praises. Pour in, pour in ; his ambition is 
dry. 

Ulysses. [To Agamemnon] My lord, you feed too 
much on this dislike. 

Nestor. Our noble general, do not do so. 

Diomedes. You must prepare to fight without 

Achilles. 
Ulysses. Why, 'tis this naming of him does him 
harm. 
Here is a man — but 't is before his face ; 230 



88 Troilus and Cressida [Act ii 

I will be silent. 

Nestor. Wherefore should you so ? 

He is not emulous, as Achilles is. 

Ulysses. Know the whole world, he is as valiant. 

Ajax. A whoreson dog, that shall palter thus with 
us ! Would he were a Trojan ! 

Nestor. What a vice were it in Ajax now, — 

Ulysses. If he were proud, — 

Diomedes. Or covetous of praise, — 

Ulysses. Ay, or surly borne, — 240 

Diomedes. Or strange, or self-affected ! 

Ulysses. Thank the heavens, lord, thou art of sweet 
composure ; 
Praise him that got thee, she that gave thee suck, 
Fam'd be thy tutor, and thy parts of nature 
Thrice fam'd, beyond all erudition ; 
But he that disciplin'd thy arms to fight. 
Let Mars divide eternity in twain 
And give him half, and, for thy vigour. 
Bull-bearing Milo his addition yield 
To sinewy Ajax. I will not praise thy wisdom, 250 

Which, like a bourn, a pale, a shore, confines 
Thy spacious and dilated parts. Here 's Nestor, — 
Instructed by the antiquary times, 
He must, he is, he cannot but be wise ; — 
But pardon, father Nestor, were your days 
As green as Ajax' and your brain so temper'd, 
You should not have the eminence of him, 
But be as Ajax. 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 89 

Ajax. Shall I call you father ? 

Nestor. Ay, my good son. 

Diomedes. Be rul'd by him, Lord Ajax. 

Ulysses. There is no tarrying here ; the hart 
Achilles " 260 

Keeps thicket. Please it our great general 
To call together all his state of war. 
Fresh kings are come to Troy ; to-morrow 
We must with all our main of power stand fast ; 
And here 's a lord, — come knights from east to west, 
And cull their flower, Ajax shall cope the best. 

Agamemnon. Go we to council. Let Achilles sleep ; 
Light boats sail swift, though greater hulks draw deep. 

\_Exetint. 




Helen unarming Hector 



ACT III 

Scene I. Ti^oy. Pi-iani's Palace 

Enter a Servant and Pandarus 

Pandarus, Friend, you ! pray you, a word : do 
not you follow the young Lord Paris ? 

Servant. Ay, sir, when he goes before me. 

90 



Scene I] Troilus and Cressida 91 

Pandai'us. You depend upon him, I mean ? 

Servant. Sir, I do depend upon the lord. 

Pandarus. You depend upon a noble gentleman ; 
I must needs praise him. 

Servant. The Lord be praised ! 

Pandarus. You know me, do you not? 

Servant. P'aith, sir, superficially. 10 

Pandarics. Friend, know me better ; I am the 
Lord Pandarus. 

Servant. I hope I shall know your honour better. 

Pandarus. I do desire it. 

Servant. You are in the state of grace. 

Pandarus. Grace ! not so, friend ; honour and 
lordship are my titles. — \Music lijithin^ What 
music is this ? 

Servant. I do but partly know, sir ; it is music in 
parts. 20 

Pandarus. Know you the musicians ? 

Servant. Wholly, sir. 

Pandarus. Who play they to ? 

Servant. To the hearers, sir. 

Pandarus. At whose pleasure, friend ? 

Servant. At mine, sir, and theirs that love music. 

Pandarus. Command, I mean, friend. 

Servant. Who shall I command, sir ? 

Pandarus. Friend, we understand not one an- 
other ; I am too courtly, and thou art too cunning. 
At whose request do these men play ? 31 

Servant. That 's to 't indeed, sir. Marry, sir, at 



92 Troilus and Cressida [Act ill 

the request of Paris my lord, who 's there in person ; 
with him, the mortal Venus, the heart-blood of 
beauty, love's invisible soul, — 

Pandarus. Who, my cousin Cressida ? 

Servant. No, sir, Helen ; could you not find out 
that by her attributes ? 

Pandarus. It should seem, fellow, that thou hast 
not seen the Lady Cressida. I come to speak with 
Paris from the Prince Troilus. I will make a com- 
plimental assault upon him, for my business seethes. 

Servant. Sodden business ! there 's a stewed phrase 
indeed ! 44 

Enter Paris afid Helen, attended 

Pa7idarus. Fair be to you, my lord, and to all this 
fair company ! fair desires, in all fair measure, fairly 
guide them ! — especially to you, fair queen ! fair 
thoughts be your fair pillow ! 

Helen. Dear lord, you are full of fair words. 

Pandarus. You speak your fair pleasure, sweet 
queen. — Fair prince, here is good broken music. 51 

Paris. You have broke it, cousin, and, by my life, 
you shall make it whole again ; you shall piece it out 
with a piece of your performance. — Nell, he is full 
of harmony. 

Pandarus. Truly, lady, no. 

Helen. O, sir, — 

Pandarus. Rude, in sooth ; in good sooth, very 
rude. 59 



Scene I] Troilus and Cressida 93 

Paris. Well said, my lord ! well, you say so in fits. 

Pandarus. I have business to my lord, dear queen. 
— My lord, will you vouchsafe me a word ? 

Helen. Nay, this shall not hedge us out ; we '11 
hear you sing, certainly. 

Pandarus. Well, sweet queen, you are pleasant 
wdth me. — But, marry, thus, my lord : my dear lord 
and most esteemed friend, your brother Troilus, — 

Helen. My Lord Pandarus ; honey-sweet lord, — 

Pandarus. Go to, sweet queen, go to ; — commends 
himself most affectionately to you, — 70 

Helen. You shall not bob us out of our melody ; 
if you do, our melancholy upon your head ! 

Pandarus. Sweet queen, sweet queen ! that 's a 
sweet queen, i' faith. 

Helen. And to make a sweet lady sad is a sour 
offence. 

Panda7'us. Nay, that shall not serve your turn ; 
that shall it not, in truth, la. Nay, I care not for 
such words ; no, no! — And, my lord, he desires you, 
that if the king call for him at supper, you will 
make his excuse. 81 

Helen. My Lord Pandarus, — 

Pandarus. What says my sweet queen, my very 
very sweet queen ? 

Paris. What exploit 's in hand ? where sups he 
to-night ? 

Helen. Nay, but, my lord, — 

Pandarus. What says my sweet queen ? — My 



94 Troilus and Cressida [Act iii 

cousin will fall out with you. You must not know 
where he sups. 90 

Paris. I '11 lay my life, with my disposer Cressida. 

Pandarus. No, no, no such matter, you are wide ; 
come, your disposer is sick. 

Paris. Well, I '11 make excuse. 

Pandarus. Ay, good my lord. Why should you 
say Cressida ? no, your poor disposer 's sick. 

Paris. I spy. 

Pandarus. You spy ! what do you spy ? — Come, 
give me an instrument, — Now, sweet queen. 

Helen. Why, this is kindly done. 100 

Pandai'us. My niece is horribly in love with a 
thing you have, sweet queen. 

Helen. She shall have it, my lord, if it be not my 
Lord Paris. 

Pandaj'us. He ! no, she '11 none of him ; they two 
are twain. 

Helen. Falling in, after falling out, may make 
them three. 

Pandarus. Come, come, I '11 hear no more of this ; 
I '11 sing you a song now. no 

Helen. Ay, ay, prithee now. By my troth, sweet 
lord, thou hast a fine forehead. 

Pandarus. Ay, you may, you may. 

Helen. Let thy song be love ; this love will undo 
us all. — O Cupid, Cupid, Cupid ! 

Pandarus. Love ! ay, that it shall, i' faith. 

Paris. Ay, good now, love, love, nothing but love. 



Scene I] Troilus and Cressida 95 

Pandarus. In good troth, it begins so. 
[Sings.] Love, love, nothing but love, still more I 

For, O, lovers bow 120 

Shoots buck and doe ! 
The shaft confounds^ 
Not that it wounds, 
But tickles still the sore. 
These lovers C7j Oh ! oh ! they die ! 

Yet that which seems the wound to kill, 
Doth turn oh ! oh ! to ha ! ha ! he ! 

So dying love lives still. 
Oh ! oh / a while, but ha ! ha ! ha ! 
Oh ! oh ! groans out for ha ! ha I ha ! 130 
Heigh-ho ! 

Helen. In love, i' faith, to the very tip of the nose. 

Paris. He eats nothing but doves, love, and that 

breeds hot blood, and hot blood begets hot thoughts, 

and hot thoughts beget hot deeds, and hot deeds is 

love. 

Pandarus. Is this the generation of love ? hot 
blood, hot thoughts, and hot deeds ? Why, they are 
vipers ; is love a generation of vipers ? Sweet lord, 
who 's a-field to-day ? 14° 

Paris. Hector, Deiphobus, Helenus, Antenor, and 
all the gallantry of Troy. I would fain have armed 
to-day, but my Nell would not have it so. How 
chance my brother Troilus went not ? 

Helen. He hangs the lip at something. — You 
know all. Lord Pandarus. 



96 Troilus and Cressida [Act ill 

Pandarus. Not I, honey-sweet queen. 1 long to 
hear how they sped to-day. — You '11 remember your 
brother's excuse ? 

Paris. To a hair. 150 

Pandarus. Farewell, sweet queen. 

Helen. Commend me to your niece. 

Pandarus. I will, sweet queen. \Exit. 

\A retreat sounded. 

Paris. They 're come from field ; let us to Priam's 
hall, 
To greet the warriors. Sweet Helen, I must woo you 
To help unarm our Hector. His stubborn buckles, 
With these your white enchanting fingers touch'd, 
Shall more obey than to the edge of steel 
Or force of Greekish sinews ; you shall do more 
Than all the island kings, — disarm great Hector. 160 

Helen. 'T will make us proud to be his servant, 
Paris ; 
Yea, what he shall receive of us in duty 
Gives us more palm in beauty than we have, 
Yea, overshines ourself. 

Paris. Sweet, above thought I love thee. {Exeunt. 



Scene II. The Same. Pandarus' s Orchard 

Enter Pandarus and Troilus 's Boy, meeting 

Pandarus. How now ! where 's thy master ? at my 
cousin Cressida's ? 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 97 

Boy. No, sir ; he stays for you to conduct him 

thither. 
Pandarus. O, here he comes. — 

Enter Troilus 

How now, how now ! 

Troilus. Sirrah, walk off. \_Extt Boy. 

Pandai'us. Have you seen my cousin ? 

Troilus. No, Pandarus ; I stalk about her door, 
Like a strange soul upon the Stygian banks 
Staying for waftage. O, be thou my Charon, 10 

And give me swift transportance to those fields 
Where I may wallow in the lily-beds 
Propos'd for the deserver ! O gentle Pandarus, 
From Cupid's shoulder pluck his painted wings. 
And fly with me to Cressid ! 

Pandarus. Walk here i' the orchard, I '11 bring her 
straight. [^Exit. 

Troilus. I am giddy ; expectation whirls me round. 
The imaginary relish is so sweet 
That it enchants my sense ; what will it be 
When that the watery palate tastes indeed 20 

Love's thrice repured nectar ? death, I fear me. 
Swooning destruction, or some joy too fine. 
Too subtle-potent, tun'd too sharp in sweetness, 
For the capacity of my ruder powers. 
I fear it much ; and I do fear besides 
That I shall lose distinction in my joys, 

TROILUS — 7 



98 Troilus and Cressida [Act ill 

As doth a battle when they charge on heaps 

The enemy flying. 28 

Re-enter Pandarus 

Pandarus. She 's making her ready, she '11 come 
straight ; you must be witty now. She does so blush, 
and fetches her wind so short, as if she were frayed 
with a sprite. I '11 fetch her. It is the prettiest 
villain ; she fetches her breath as short as a new- 
ta'en sparrow. \Exit. 

Troihcs. Even such a passion doth embrace my 
bosom ; 
My heart beats thicker than a feverous pulse, 
And all my powers do their bestowing lose. 
Like vassalage at unawares encountering 
The eye of majesty. 39 

Re-enter Pandarus with Cressida 

Pandarus. Come, come, what need you blush ? 
shame 's a baby. — Here she is now ; swear the 
oaths now to her that you have sworn to me. — 
What, are you gone again ? you must be watched 
ere you be made tame, must you ? Come your ways, 
come your ways ; an you draw backw^ard, we '11 put 
you i' the fills. — Why do you not speak to her ? — 
Come, draw this curtain, and let 's see your picture. 
Alas the, day, how loath you are to offend daylight! 
an 't were dark, you'd close sooner. So, so ; rub on, 
and kiss the mistress. How now! a kiss in fee-farm! 
build there, carpenter ; the air is sweet. Nay, you 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 99 

shall fight your hearts out ere I part you. The 
falcon as the tercel, for all the ducks i' the river ; 
go to, go to. 54 

Troilus. You have bereft me of all words, lady. 

Pandarus. Words pay no debts, give her deeds ; 
but she '11 bereave you o' the deeds too, if she call 
your activity in question. What, billing again ? 
Here 's ' In witness whereof the parties interchange- 
ably ' — Come in, come in ; I '11 go get a fire. \Exit. 

Cressida. Will you walk in, my lord ? 61 

Troilus. O Cressida, how often have I wished me 
thus ! 

Cressida. Wished, my lord ! The gods grant, — 
O my lord ! 

Troilus. What should they grant ? what makes 
this pretty abruption ? What too curious dreg 
espies my sweet lady in the fountain of our love ? 

Cressida. More dregs than water, if my fears have 
eyes. 70 

Troilus. Fears make devils of cherubins ; they 
never see truly. 

Cj-essida. Blind fear, that seeing reason leads, 
finds safer footing than blind reason stumbling with- 
out fear ; to fear the worst oft cures the worse. 

Troilus. O, let my lady apprehend no fear ; in all 
Cupid's pageant there is presented no monster. 

Cressida. Nor nothing monstrous neither ? 78 

Troilus. Nothing, but our undertakings ; when we 
vow to weep seas, live in fire, eat rocks, tame tigers ; 



I* •■-■ 



lOO Troilus and Cressida [Act iii 

thinking it harder for our mistress to devise imposi- 
tion enough than for us to undergo any difficulty 
imposed. This is the monstruosity in love, lady, 
— that the will is infinite and the execution con- 
fined, that the desire is boundless and the act a 
slave to limit. 86 

Cressida. They say all lovers swear more perform- 
ance than they are able and yet reserve an ability 
that they never perform, vowing more than the per- 
fection of ten and discharging less than the tenth 
part of one. They that have the voice of lions and 
the act of hares, are they not monsters ? 92 

Troilus. Are there such ? such are not we. Praise 
us as we are tasted, allow us as we prove ; our head 
shall go bare till merit crown it. No perfection in 
reversion shall have a praise in present ; we will not 
name desert before his birth, and, being born, his 
addition shall be humble. Few words to fair faith ; 
Troilus shall be such to Cressid as what envy can 
say worst shall be a mock for his truth, and what 
truth can speak truest not truer than Troilus. loi 

Cressida. Will you walk in, my lord ? . 

Re-enter Pandarus 

Fandai^us. What, blushing still? have you not 
done talking yet? 

Cressida. Well, uncle, what folly I commit I dedi- 
cate to you. 

Pandarus. I thank you for that ; .if my lord get a 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida loi 

boy of you, you '11 give him me. Be true to my lord ; 
if he flinch, chide me for it. 

Troilus. You know now your hostages ; your 
uncle's word and my firm faith. m 

Pandarus. Nay, I '11 give my word for her too. 
Our kindred, though they be long ere they are 
wooed, they are constant being won. They are burs, 
I can tell you ; they '11 stick where they are thrown. 

Cressida. Boldness comes to me now, and brings 
me heart. — 
Prince Troilus, I have lov'd you night and day 
For many weary months. 

Troilus. Why was my Cressid then so hard to 
win ? 

Cressida. Hard to seem won ; but I was won, my 
lord, 120 

With the first glance that ever — pardon me — 
If I confess much, you will play the tyrant. 
I love you now ; but not, till now, so much 
But I might master it. — In faith, I lie ; 
My thoughts were like unbridled children, grown 
Too headstrong for their mother. See, we fools ! 
Why have I blabb'd ? who shall be true to us 
When we are so un secret to ourselves ? 
But, though I lov'd you well, I woo'd you not ; 
And yet, good faith, I wish'd myself a man, 130 

Or that we women had men's privilege 
Of speaking first. Sweet, bid me hold my tongue. 
For in this rapture I shall surely speak 



I02 Troilus and Cressida [Act iii 

The thing I shall repent. See, see, your silence, 
Cunning in dumbness, from my weakness draws 
My very soul of counsel ! stop my mouth. 

Troilus. And shall, albeit sweet music issues thence. 

Pandarus. Pretty, i' faith. 

Cressida. My lord, I do beseech you, pardon me ; 
'T was not my purpose thus to beg a kiss. 140 

I am asham'd. — O heavens ! what have I done ? — 
For this time will I take my leave, my lord. 

Troilus. Your leave, sweet Cressid ! 

Pandarus. Leave ! an you take leave till to-morrow 
morning, — 

Cressida. Pray you, content you. 

Troilus. What offends you, lady? 

Cressida. Sir, mine own company. 

Troilus. You cannot shun yourself. 

Cressida. Let me go and try. 
I have a kind of self resides with you, 150' 

But an unkind self that itself will leave 
To be another's fool. I would be gone. — 
Where is my wit ? I know not what I speak. 

Troilus. Well know they what they speak that speak 
so wisely. 

Cressida. Perchance, my lord, I show more craft than 
love, 
And fell so roundly to a large confession. 
To angle for your thoughts, but you are wise. 
Or else you love not, for to be wise and love 
Exceeds man's might ; that dwells with gods above. 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 103 

Troihis. O that I thought it could be in a woman — 
As, if it can, I will presume in you — 161 

To feed for aye her lamp and flames of love ; 
To keep her constancy in plight and youth, 
Outliving beauty's outward, with a mind 
That doth renew swifter than blood decays ! 
Or that persuasion could but thus convince me, — 
That my integrity and truth to you 
Might be affronted wdth the match and weight 
Of such a winnow'd purity in love ! 
How were I then uplifted ! but, alas ! 170 

I am as true as truth's simplicity. 
And simpler than the infancy of truth. 

Cressida. In that I '11 war with you. 

Troilus. O virtuous light. 

When right with right wars who shall be most right ! 
True swains in love shall in the world to come 
Approve their truths by Troilus ; when their rhymes, 
Full of protest, of oath, and big compare. 
Want similes, truth tir'd with iteration, — 
' As true as steel, as plantage to the moon. 
As sun to day, as turtle to her mate, 180 

As iron to adamant, as earth to the centre,' — 
Yet, after all comparisons of truth. 
As truth's authentic author to be cited, 
' As true as Troilus ' shall crown up the verse 
And sanctify the numbers. 

Cressida. Prophet may you be ! 

If I be false, or swerve a hair from truth. 



I04 Troilus and Cressida [Act iii 

When time is old and hath forgot itself, 

When water-drops have worn the stones of Troy, 

And blind oblivion swallow 'd cities up, 

And mighty states characterless are grated 190 

To dusty nothing, yet let memory, 

From false to false, among false maids in love. 

Upbraid my falsehood ! when they 've said ' as false 

As air, as water, wind, or sandy earth, 

As fox to lamb, as wolf to heifer's calf, 

Pard to the hind, or stepdame to her son,' 

' Yea,' let them say. to stick the heart of falsehood, 

' As false as Cressid.' 198 

Pandarus. Go to, a bargain made ! seal it, seal it ; 
I '11 be the witness. Here I hold your hand, here 
my cousin's. If ever you prove false one to another, 
since I have taken such pains to bring you together, 
let all pitiful goers-between be called to the world's 
end after my name, call them all Pandars ; let all 
constant men be Troiluses, all false women Cressids, 
and all brokers-between Pandars ! Say, amen. 

Troilus. Amen. 

Cressida. Amen. 208 

Pandarus. Amen. Whereupon I will show you a 
chamber with a bed, which bed, because it shall not 
speak of your pretty encounters, press it to death ; 
away ! 

And Cupid grant all tongue-tied maidens here 
Bed, chamber, Pandar to provide this gear ! [Exetmt. 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 105 



Scene III. The Grecian Camp 

Enter Agamemnon, Ulysses, Diomedes, Nestor, 
AjAX, Menelaus, and Calchas 

Calchas. Now, princes, for the service I have done 

you, 
The advantage of the time prompts me aloud 
To call for recompense. Appear it to your mind 
That, through the sight I bear in things to love, 
I have abandon 'd Troy, left my possession, 
Incurr'd a traitor's name ; expos 'd myself, 
From certain and possess 'd conveniences, 
To doubtful fortunes ; sequestering from me all 
That time, acquaintance, custom, and condition 
Made tame and most famihar to my nature, 10 

And here, to do you service, am become 
As new into the world, strange, unacquainted ; 
I do beseech you, as in way of taste, 
To give me now a little benefit. 
Out of those many register'd in promise 
Which, you say, live to come in my behalf. 

Agamemnon. What wouldst thou of us, Trojan ? 

make demand. 
Calchas. You have a Trojan prisoner, call'd Antenor, 
Yesterday took ; Troy holds him very dear. 
Oft have you — often have you thanks therefore — 20 
Desir'd my Cressid in right great exchange, 
Whom Troy hath still denied ; but this Antenor, 



io6 Troilus and Cressida [Act in 

I know, is such a wrest in their affairs 
That their negotiations all must slack, 
Wanting his manage, and they will almost 
Give us a prince of blood, a son of -Priam, 
In change of him. Let him be sent, great princes, 
And he shall buy my daughter ; and her presence 
Shall quite strike off all service I have done, 
In most accepted pain. 

Agamemnon. Let Diomedes bear him, 30 

And bring us Cressid hither ; Calchas shall have 
What he requests of us. — Good Diomed, 
Furnish you fairly for this interchange. 
Withal bring word if Hector will to-morrow 
Be answer'd in his challenge ; Ajax is ready. 

Diomedes. This shall I undertake ; and 't is a burden 
Which I am proud to bear. 

\_Exeunt Diomedes and Calchas 

Enter Achilles and Patroclus, before their tent 

Ulysses. Achilles stands i' the entrance of his tent. 
Please it our general to pass strangely by him. 
As if he were forgot ; — and, princes all, 40 

Lay niegligent and loose regard upon him. 
I will come last. 'T is like he '11 question me . 
Why such unplausive eyes are bent on him ; 
If so, I have derision medicinable 
To use between your strangeness and his pride, 
Which his own will shall have desire to drink. 
It may do good ; pride hath no other glass 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 107 

To show itself but pride, for supple knees 
Feed arrogance and are the proud man's fees. 

Agameinnon. We '11 execute your purpose, and put on 
A form of strangeness as we pass along. — 51 

So do each lord, and either greet him not. 
Or else disdainfully, which shall shake him more 
Than if not look'd on. I will lead the way. 

Achilles. What, comes the general to speak with me ? 
You know my mind, I '11 fight no more 'gainst' Troy. 

Agamemnon. What says Achilles ? would he aught 
with us ? 

Nestor. Would you, my lord, aught with the general ? 

Achilles, No. 

Nestor. Nothing, my lord. 60 

Agamemnon. The better. 

\Exeunt Agamemnon and Nestor. 

Achilles. Good day, good day. 

Menelaus. How do you ? how do you ? \Exit. 

Achilles. What, does the cuckold scorn me? 

Ajax. How now, Patroclus ! 

Achilles. Good morrow, Ajax. 

Ajax. Ha ? 

Achilles. Good morrow. 

Ajax. Ay, and good next day too. [Exit. 

Achilles. What mean these fellows ? Know they not 
Achilles ? 70 

Patroclus. They pass by strangely; they were us'd 
to bend. 
To send their smiles before them to Achilles, 



io8 Troilus and Cressida [Act ill 

To come as humbly as they us'd to creep 
To holy altars. 

Achilles. What, am I poor of late ? 

'T is certain, greatness, once fallen out with fortune, 
Must fall out with men too. What the declin'd is 
He shall as soon read in the eyes of others 
As feel in his own fall ; for men, like butterflies, 
Show not their mealy wings but to the summer, 
And not a man, for being simply man, 80 

Hath any honour, but honour for those honours 
That are without him, as place, riches, favour. 
Prizes of accident as oft as merit, 
Which when they fall, as being slippery standers. 
The love that lean'd on them as slippery too, 
Do one pluck down another and together 
Die in the fall. But 't is not so with me : 
Fortune and I are friends ; I do enjoy 
At ample point all that I did possess. 
Save these men's looks, who do, methinks, find out 90 
Something not worth in me such rich beholding 
As they have often given. Here is Ulysses ; 
I '11 interrupt his reading. — 
How now, Ulysses ! 

Ulysses. Now, great Thetis' son ! 

Achilles. What are you reading ? 

Ulysses. A strange fellow here 

Writes me that man — how dearly ever parted, 
How much in having, or without or in — 
Cannot make boast to have that which he hath, 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 109 

Nor feels not what he owes, but by reflection ; 

As when his virtues shining upon others 100 

Heat them and they retort that heat again 

To the first giver. 

Achilles. This is not strange, Ulysses. 

The beauty that is borne here in the face 
The bearer knows not, but commends itself 
To others' eyes, nor doth the eye itself, 
That most pure spirit of sense, behold itself, 
Not going from itself ; but eye to eye oppos'd 
Salutes each other with each other's form, 
For speculation turns not to itself 

Till it hath travell'd and is mirror'd there no 

Where it may see itself. This is not strange at all. 

Ulysses. I do not strain at the position, — 
It is familiar, — but at the author's drift. 
Who in his circumstance expressly proves 
That no man is the lord of any thing. 
Though in and of him there be much consisting. 
Till he communicate his parts to others ; 
Nor doth he of himself know them for aught - 
Till he behold them form'd in the applause 
Where they 're extended ; who, like an arch, reverber- 
ates 120 
The voice again, or, like a gate of steel 
Fronting the sun, receives and renders back 
His figure and his heat. I was much wrapt in this, 
And apprehended here immediately 
The unknown Ajax. 



no Troilus and Cressida [Act iii 

Heavens, what a man is there ! a very horse, 

That has he knows not what. — Nature, what things 

there are 
Most abject in regard and dear in use ! 
What things again most dear in the esteem 
And poor in worth ! — Now shall we see to-morrow — 130 
An act that very chance doth throw upon him — 
Ajax renown'd. — O heavens, what some men do 
While some men leave to do ! 
How some men creep in skittish fortune's hall 
Whiles others play the idiots in her eyes ! 
How one man eats into another's pride • 

While pride is fasting in his wantonness ! 
To see these Grecian lords ! — why, even already 
They clap the lubber Ajax on the shoulder, 
As if his foot were on brave Hector's breast, 140 

And great Troy shrieking. 

Achilles. I do believe it ; for they pass'd by me 
As misers do by beggars, neither gave to me 
Good word nor look. What, are my deeds forgot ? 

Ulysses. Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back 
Wherein he puts alms for oblivion, 
A great-siz'd monster of ingratitudes. 
Those scraps are good deeds past, which are devour'd 
As fast as they are made, forgot as soon 
As done. Perseverance, dear my lord, 150 

Keeps honour bright ; to have done is to hang 
Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail 
In monumental mockery. Take the instant way, 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 1 1 1 

For honour travels in a strait so narrow 

Where one but goes abreast ; keep then the path, 

For emulation hath a thousand sons 

That one by one pursue. If you give way 

Or hedge aside from the direct forthright, 

Like to an enter'd tide, they all rush by 

And leave you hindmost ; i6o 

Or, like a gallant horse fallen in first rank. 

Lie there for pavement to the abject rear, 

O'errun and trampled on. Then what they do in present, 

Though less than yours in past, must o'ertop yours. 

For time is like a fashionable host 

That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand, 

And with his arms outstretch'd, as he would fly, 

Grasps in the comer ; welcome ever smiles. 

And farewell goes out sighing. O, let not virtue seek 

Remuneration for the thing it was ! 170 

For beauty, wit. 

High birth, vigour of bone, desert in service, 

Love, friendship, charity, are subjects all 

To envious and calumniating time. 

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin, — 

That all with one consent praise new-born gawds, 

Though they are made and moulded of things past, 

And give to dust that is a little gilt 

More laud than gilt o'er-dusted. 

The present eye praises the present object ; 180 

Then marvel not, thou great and complete man, 

That all the Greeks begin to worship Ajax, 



112 Troilus and Cressida [Act ill 

Since things in motion sooner catch the eye 

Than what not stirs. The cry went once on thee, 

And still it might, and yet it may again, 

If thou wouldst not entomb thyself alive 

And case thy reputation in thy tent, 

Whose glorious deeds, but in these fields of late. 

Made emulous missions 'mongst the gods themselves 

And drave great Mars to faction. 

Achilles, Of this my privacy 

I have strong reasons. 

Ulysses. But 'gainst your privacy 191 

The reasons are more potent and heroical. 
'T is known, Achilles, that you are in love 
With one of Priam's daughters. 

Achilles. Ha ! known .! 

Ulysses. Is that a wonder ? 
The providence that 's in a watchful state 
Knows almost every grain of Plutus' gold. 
Finds bottom in the uncomprehensive deeps. 
Keeps place with thought, and almost, like the gods, 
Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles. 200 

There is a mystery — with whom relation 
Durst never meddle — in the soul of state, 
Which hath an operation more divine 
Than breath or pen can give expressure to. 
All the commerce that you have had with Troy 
As perfectly is ours as yours, my lord ; 
And better would it fit Achilles much 
To throw down Hector than Polyxena. 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 113 

But it must grieve young Pyrrhus now at home, 

When fame shall in our islands sound her trump, 210 

And all the Greekish girls shall tripping sing, 

' Great Hector's sister did Achilles win, 

But our great Ajax bravely beat down him.' 

Farewell, my lord. I as your lover speak ; 

The fool slides o'er the ice that you should break. [_jExt^. 

Patrocliis. To this effect, Achilles, have I mov'd you. 
A woman impudent and mannish grown 
Is not more loath 'd than an effeminate man 
In time of action. I stand condemn'd for this ; 
They think my little stomach to the war 220 

And your great love to me restrains you thus. 
Sweet, rouse yourself ; and the weak wanton Cupid 
Shall from your neck unloose his amorous fold. 
And, like a dew-drop from the Hon's mane. 
Be shook to air. 

Achilles. Shall Ajax fight with Hector ? 

Pati'oclus. Ay, and perhaps receive much honour by 
him. 

Achilles. I see my reputation is at stake ; 
My fame is shrewdly gor'd. 

Patroclus. O, then, beware ! 

Those wounds heal ill that men do give themselves. 
Omission to do what is necessary 230 

Seals a commission to a blank of danger ; 
And danger, like an ague, subtly taints 
Even then when we sit idly in the sun. 

Achilles. Go call Thersites hither, sweet Patroclus. 

TROILUS — 8 



114 Troilus and Cressida [Act iii 

I '11 send the fool to Ajax and desire him 

To invite the Trojan lords after the combat 

To see us here unarm 'd. I have a woman's longing, 

An appetite that I am sick withal, 

To see great Hector in his weeds of peace, 

To talk with him and to behold his visage, 240 

Even to my full of view. — 

Enter Thersites 

A labour sav'd ! 

Thersites. A wonder ! 

Achilles. What ? 

Thersites. Ajax goes up and down the field, asking 
for himself. 

Achilles. How so ? 

Thersites. He must fight singly to-morrow with 
Hector, and is so prophetically proud of an heroical 
cudgelling that he raves in saying nothing. 

Achilles. How can that be ? 250 

Thersites. Why, he stalks up and down like a 
peacock, — a stride and a stand ; ruminates like an 
hostess that hath no arithmetic but her brain to 
set down her reckoning ; bites his lip with a politic 
regard, as who should say ' There were wit in this 
head an 't would out ; ' and so there is, but it lies 
as coldly in him as fire in a flint, which will not 
show without knocking. The man 's undone for 
ever ; for if Hector break not his neck i' the com- 
bat, he '11 break 't himself in vainglory. He knows 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 115 

not me ; I said ' Good morrow, Ajax ; ' and he replies 
'Thanks, Agamemnon.' What think you of this 
man that takes me for the general ? He 's grown a 
very land-fish, languageless, a monster. A plague 
of opinion ! a man may wear it on both sides, like a 
leather jerkin. 266 

Achilles. Thou must be my ambassador to him, 
Thersites. 

Thersites. Who, I ? why, he '11 answer nobody ; he 
professes not answering. Speaking is for beggars ; 
he wears his tongue in 's arms. I will put on his 
presence ; let Patroclus make demands to me, you 
shall see the pageant of Ajax. 

Achilles. To him, Patroclus ; tell him I humbly 
desire the valiant Ajax to invite the most valorous 
Hector to come unarmed to my tent, and to procure 
safe-conduct for his person of the magnanimous and 
most illustrious six-or-seven-times-honoured captain- 
general of the Grecian army, Agamemnon, et cet- 
era. Do this. 280 

Patroclus. Jove bless great Ajax. 

Thersites. Hum ! 

Patroclus. I come from the worthy Achilles, — 

Thei'sites. Ha ! 

Patroclus. Who most humbly desires you to invite 
Hector to his tent, — 

Thersites. Hum ! 

Patroclus. And to procure safe-conduct from Aga- 
memnon. 



1 1 6 Troilus and Cressida [Act ill 

Thersites. Agamemnon ! 290 

Patroclus. Ay, my lord. 

Thersites. Ha ! 

Pcrtroclus. What say you to 't ? 

Thersites. God b' wi' you, with all my heart. 

Patroclus. Your answer, sir. 

Thersites. If to-morrow be a fair day, by eleven 
o'clock it will go one way or other ; howsoever, he 
shall pay for me ere he has me. 

Patroclus. Your answer, sir. 

Thersites. Fare you well, 'with all my heart. 300 

Achilles. Why, but he is not in this tune, is he ? 

Thersites. No, but he 's out o' tune thus. What 
music will be in him when Hector has knocked out 
his brains I know not, but, I am sure, none, unless 
the fiddler Apollo get his sinews to make catlings on. 

Achilles. Come, thou shalt bear a letter to him 
straight. 

Thersites. Let me bear another to his horse, for 
that 's the more capable creature. 

Achilles. My mind is troubled, like a fountain 
stirr'd, 310 

And I myself see not the bottom of it. 

\_Exeunt Achilles and Patroclus. 

Thersites. Would the fountain of your mind were 
clear again, that I might water an ass at it ! I had 
rather be a tick in a sheep than such a valiant 
ignorance. \Exit, 




^NEAS MEETING PaRIS 



ACT IV 

Scene I. Ti-oy. A Street 

Enter, from one side, ^neas, and Servant with a torch; 
from the other, Paris, Deiphobus, Antenor, Dio- 
MEDES, and others, with torches 

Paris. See, ho ! who is that there ? 

Deiphobus, It is the Lord ^neas. 

117 



1 1 8 Troilus and Cressida [Act IV 

^neas. Is the prince there in person? — 
Had I so good occasion to He long 
As you, Prince Paris, nothing but heavenly business 
Should rob my bed-mate of my company. 

Diomedes. That 's my mind too. — Good morrow, 
Lord yEneas. 

Paris. A valiant Greek, ^neas, — take his hand, — 
Witness the process of your speech, wherein 
You told how Diomed, a whole week by days, 
Did haunt you in the field. 

y^neas. Health to you, valiant sir, 

During all question of the gentle truce ; n 

But when I meet you arm'd, as black defiance 
As heart can think or courage execute ! 

Diomedes. The one and other Diomed embraces. 
Our bloods are now in calm ; and, so long, health ! 
But when contention and occasion meet, 
By Jove, I '11 play the hunter for thy life 
With all my force, pursuit, and policy. 

yEneas. And thou shalt hunt a lion, that will fly 
With his face backward. — In humane gentleness, 20 
Welcome to Troy ! now, by Anchises' life. 
Welcome, indeed ! By Venus' hand I swear, 
No man alive can love in such a sort 
The thing he means to kill more excellently. 

Diomedes. We sympathize. — Jove, let ^neas live, 
If to my sword his fate be not the glory, 
A thousand complete courses of the sun ! 
But, in mine emulous honour, let him die, . 



Scene I] Troilus and Cressida 119 

With every joint a wound, and that to-morrow ! 

^neas. We know each other well. 30 

Diomedes. We do, and long to know each other 
worse. 

Paris. This is the most despiteful gentle greeting, 
The noblest hateful love, that e'er I heard of. — 
What business, lord, so early ? 

y^neas. I was sent for to the king ; but why, I know 
not. 

Paris. His purpose meets you ; 't was to bring this 
Greek 
To Calchas' house, and there to render him. 
For the enfreed Antenor, the fair Cressid. 
Let 's have your company, or, if you please. 
Haste there before us. I constantly do think — 40 

Or rather, call my thought a certain knowledge — 
My brother Troilus lodges there to-night. 
Rouse him, and give him note of our approach, 
With the whole quality wherefore ; I fear 
We shall be much unwelcome. 

yEneas. That I assure you ; 

Troilus had rather Troy were borne to Greece 
Than Cressid borne from Troy. 

Paris. There is no help ; 

The bitter disposition of the tinie 
Will have it so. — On, lord ; we '11 follow you. 49 

y^neas. Good morrow, all. \_Exit with Se?'vant. 

Paris. And tell me, noble Diomed, faith, tell me true. 
Even in the soul of sound good-fellowship, 



1 20 Troilus and Cressida [Act IV 

Who, in your thoughts, merits fair Helen best. 
Myself or Menelaus ? 

Diojnedes. Both alike. 

He merits well to have her that doth seek her, 
Not making any scruple of her soilure. 
With such a hell of pain and world of charge ; 
And you as well to keep her, that defend her, 
Not palating the taste of her dishonour. 
With such a costly loss of wealth and friends. 60 

He, like a puling cuckold, would drink up 
The lees and dregs of a flat tamed piece ; 
You, hke a lecher, out of whorish loins 
Are pleas'd to breed out your inheritors. 
Both merits pois'd, each weighs nor less nor more, 
But he as he, the heavier for a whore. 

Paris. You are too bitter to your countrywoman. 

Diomedes. She 's bitter to her country. Hear me, 
Paris : 
For every false drop in her bawdy veins 
A Grecian's life hath sunk ; for every scruple 70 

Of her contaminated carrion weight, 
A Trojan hath been slain. Since she could speak, 
She hath not given so many good words breath 
As for her Greeks and Trojans suffer'd death. 

Paris. Fair Diomed, you do as chapmen do, 
Dispraise the thing that you desire to buy ; 
But we in silence hold this virtue well, — 
We '11 but commend what we intend to sell. 
Here lies our way. S^Exeunt. 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 121 

Scene II. The Same. Court of Pandarus's Hoicse 
Enter Troilus and Cressida 

Troilus. Dear, trouble not yourself ; the morn is 
cold. 

Cressida. Then, sweet my lord, I '11 call mine uncle 
down ; 
He shall unbolt the gates. 

Troilus. Trouble him not ; 

To bed, to bed ! sleep kill those pretty eyes, 
And give as soft attachment to thy senses 
As infants' empty of all thought ! 

Cressida. Good morrow, then. 

Troilics. I prithee now, to bed. 

Cressida. Are you aweary of me ? 

Troilus. O Cressida ! but that the busy day, 
Wak'd by the lark, hath rous'd the ribald crows. 
And dreaming night will hide our joys no longer, 10 
I would not from thee. 

Cressida. Night hath been too brief. 

Troilus. Beshrew the witch ! with venomous wights 
she stays 
As tediously as hell, but flies the grasps of love 
With wings more momentary-swift than thought. — 
You will catch cold and curse me. 

Cressida. Prithee, tarry. — 

You men will never tarry. 
O foolish Cressid ! I might have still held off, 



122 I'roilus and Cressida [Act IV 

And then you would have tarried. Hark 1 There 's 
one up. 
Pandarus. [ Withi7i\ What, 's all the doors open here ? 
Troilus. It is your uncle. 20 

Cressida. A pestilence on him ! now will he be 
mocking ; 
I shall have such a life ! 

Enter Pandarus 

Pandarus. How now, how now ! how go maiden- 
heads ? — Here, you maid ! where 's my cousin 
Cressid ? 

Cressida. Go hang yourself, you naughty mock- 
ing uncle ! You bring me to do, and then you flout 
me too. 

Pa?idarus. To do what ? to do what ? let her say 
what ; what have I brought you to do ? 30 

Cressida. Come, come, beshrew your heart ! you '11 
■ ne'er be good, 
Nor suffer others. 

Pandarus. Ha, ha ! Alas, poor wretch ! ah, poor 
capocchia ! hast not slept to-night ? would he not, a 
naughty man, let it sleep ? a bugbear take him ! 

Cressida. Did not I tell you? — Would he* were 
knock'd i' the head ! — \Knocking within. 

Who 's that at door ? good uncle, go and see. — 
My lord, come you again into my chamber. 
You smile and mock me, as if I meant naughtily. 

Troilus. Ha, ha ! 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 123 

Cressida. Come, you are deceiv'd, I think of no 
such thing. — [Knocking within. 

How earnestly they knock ! — Pray you, come in : 42 
I would not for half Troy have you seen here. 

\Exeunt Troilus and Cressida. 
Pandarus. Who 's there ? what 's the matter ? will 
you beat down the door ? How now ! what 's the 
matter ? 

Enter ^neas 

^neas. Good morrow, lord, good morrow. 

Pandarus. Who 's there ? my lord ^neas ! By 
my troth, I knew you not ; what news with you so 
early ? 

yEneas. Is not Prince Troilus here ? 51 

Pandarus. Here ! what should he do here ? 

JEneas. Come, he is here, my lord ; do not deny him. 
It doth import him much to speak with me. 

Pandarus. Is he here, say you ? 't is more than I 
know, I '11 be sworn ; for my own part, I came in 
late. What should he do here? 

yEneas. Who ! — nay, then, come, come, you '11 
do him wrong ere you 're ware. You '11 be so true 
to him, to be false to him. Do not you know of 
him, but yet go fetch him hither ; go. 61 

Re-enter Troilus 

Troilus. How now ! what 's the matter ? 
JEneas. My lord, I scarce have leisure to salute 
you, 



124 Troilus and Cressida [Act iv 

My matter is so rash. There is at hand 
Paris your brother, and Deiphobus, 
The Grecian Diomed, and our Antenor 
DeKver'd to us ; and for him forthwith, 
Ere the first sacrifice, within this hour, 
We must give up to Diomedes' hand 
The Lady Cressida. 

Troilus. Is it so concluded ? 70 

^neas. By Priam and the general state of Troy. 
They are at hand and ready to effect it. 

Tf'oilus. How my achievements mock me ! 
I will go meet them ; — and, my Lord ^neas, 
We met by chance, you did not find me here. 

^neas. Good, good, my lord ; the secrets of nature 
Have not more gift in taciturnity. 

\Exeunt Troilus and ^neas. 

Pandai'us. Is 't possible ? no sooner got but lost ? 
The devil take Antenor ! the young prince will go 
mad. A plague upon Antenor ! I would they had 
broke 's neck ! 81 

Re-enter Cressida 

Cressida. How now ! what 's the matter ? who was 
here ? 

Pandarus. Ah, ah ! 

Cressida. Why sigh you so profoundly ? where 's 
my lord ? gone ! Tell me, sweet uncle, what 's the 
matter ? 

Pandarus. Would I were as deep under the earth 
as I am above ! 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 125 

Cressida. O the gods ! what 's the matter ? 90 

Pandarus. Prithee, get thee in. Would thou hadst 
ne'er been born ! I knew thou wouldst be his death. 
O, poor gentleman ! A plague upon Antenor ! 

Cressida. Good uncle, I beseech you, on my knees 
I beseech you, what 's the matter ? 

Pandarus. Thou must be gone, wench, thou must 
be gone ; thou art changed for Antenor. Thou must 
to thy father, and be gone from Troilus ; 't will be 
his death, 't will be his bane, he cannot bear it. 

Cressida. O you immortal gods ! — I will not go. 

Pandarus. Thou must. loi 

Cressida. I will not, uncle. I have forgot my father ; 
I know no touch of consanguinity, 
No kin, no love, no blood, no soul so near me 
As the sweet Troilus. — O you gods divine ! 
Make Cressid's name the very crown of falsehood 
If ever she leave Troilus ! Time, force, and death, 
Do to this body what extremes you can ; 
But the strong base and building of my love 
Is as the very centre of the earth, no 

Drawing all things to it. I '11 go in and weep, — 

Pandarus. Do, do. 

Cressida. Tear my bright hair and scratch my praised 
cheeks. 
Crack my clear voice with sobs and break my heart 
With sounding Troilus. I will not go from Troy ! 

\_Exeunt. 



126 Troilus and Cressida [Act IV 

Scene III. The Same. Street before Pandarus' s House 

Enter Paris, Troilus, tEneas, Deiphobus, Antenor, 
and DiOMEDES 

Paris. It is great morning, and the hour prefix'd 
Of her delivery to this valiant Greek 
Comes fast upon. — Good my brother Troilus, 
Tell you the lady what she is to do. 
And haste her to the purpose. 

Troilus. Walk into her house, 

I '11 bring her to the Grecian presently ; 
And to his hand when I deliver her, 
Think it an altar, and thy brother Troilus 
A priest there offering to it his own heart. \Exit. 

Paris. I know what 't is to love, . lo 

And would, as I shall pity, I could help ! — 
Please you walk in, my lords. [Exeunt. 

Scene IV. The Sa??ie. Pandarus^s House 
Enter Pandarus and Cressida 

Pandarus. Be moderate, be moderate. 

Cressida. Why tell you me of moderation ? 
The grief is fine, full, perfect, that I taste, ' 
And violenteth in a sense as strong 
As that which causeth it ; how can I moderate it ? 
If I could temporize with my affection, 
Or brew it to a weak and colder palate. 
The like allayment could I give my grief. 



Scene IV] Troilus and Cressida' 127 

My love admits no qualifying dross ; 
No more my grief, in such a precious loss. 10 

Pandarus. Here, here, here he comes. — 

Enter Troilus 

Ah, sweet ducks ! 

Cressida. O Troilus ! Troilus ! \_Embracmg him. 

Pandarus. What a pair of spectacles is here ! Let 
me embrace too, ' O heart,'' as the goodly saying is, 

' O heart, heavy hea?'t, 

Why sights t thou without breaking ? ' 
where he answers again, 

' Because thou canst not ease thy smart 

By fi'iendship nor by speaking.^ , 20 

There was never a truer rhyme. Let us cast away 
nothing, for we may live to have need of such a verse ; 
we see it, we see it. — How now, lambs ? 

Troilus. Cressid, I love thee in so strain'd a purity 
That the blest gods, as angry with my fancy, 
More bright in zeal than the devotion which 
Cold lips blow to their deities, take thee from me. 

Cressida. Have the gods envy ? 28 

Pandarus. Ay, ay, ay, ay ; 't is too plain a case. 

C?'essida. And is it true that I must go from Troy ? 

Troilus. A hateful truth. 

Cressida. What, and from Troilus too ? 

Troilus. From Troy and Troilus. 

Cressida. Is it possible ? 

Troilus. And suddenly ; where injury of chance 



128 Troilus and Cressida [Act iv 

Puts back leave-taking, justles roughly by 

All time of pause, rudely beguiles our lips 

Of all rejoindure, forcibly prevents 

Our lock'd embrasures, strangles our dear vows 

Even in the birth of our own labouring breath. 

We two, that with so many thousand sighs 

Did buy each other, must poorly sell ourselves 40 

With the rude brevity and discharge of one. 

Injurious time now with a robber's haste 

Crams his rich thievery up, he knows not how ; 

As many farewells as be stars in heaven. 

With distinct breath and consign'd kisses to them, 

He fumbles up into a loose adieu, 

And scants us with a single famish 'd kiss. 

Distasted with the salt of broken tears. 

yE7ieas. [ Withi7i] My lord, is the lady ready ? 

Troilus. Hark ! you are called ; some say the Ge- 
nius so 50 
Cries ' come ' to him that instantly must die. — 
Bid them have patience ; she shall come anon. 

Pandarus, Where are my tears ? rain, to lay this 
wind, or my heart will be blown up by the root. \Exit. 

Cressida. I must then to the Grecians ? 

Troilus. No remedy. 

Cressida. A woful Cressid 'mongst the merry 
Greeks ! 
When shall we see again ? 

Troilus. Hear me, my love : be thou but true of 
heart, — 



Scene IV] Troilus and Cressida 129 

Cressida. I true ! how now ! what wicked deem is 
this? 

Troilus. Nay, we must use expostulation kindly, 60 
For it is parting from us. 
I speak not ' be thou true,' as fearing thee, 
For I will throw my glove to Death himself 
That there 's no maculation in thy heart, 
But ' be thou true,' say I, to fashion in 
My secret protestation ; be thou true. 
And I will see thee. 

Cressida. O, you shall be expos'd, my lord, to dan- 
gers 
As infinite as imminent ! but I '11 be true. 

Troilus. And I '11 grow friend with danger. Wear 
this sleeve. 70 

Cressida. And you this glove. When shall I see you ? 

Troilus. I will corrupt the Grecian sentinels. 
To give thee nightly visitation. 
But yet be true. 

Cressida. O heavens ! ' be true ' again ! 

Ti'oilus. Hear why I speak it, love. 
The Grecian youths are full of quality ; 
They 're loving, well compos 'd with gifts of nature, 
And flowing o'er with arts and exercise. 
How novelty may move, and parts with person, 
Alas, a kind of godly jealousy — 80 

Which, I beseech you, call a virtuous sin — 
Makes me afeard. 

Cressida. O heavens ! you love me not. 

TROILUS — 9 



ijo Troilus and Cressida [Act iv 

Troilus. Die I a villain, then ! 
In this I do not call your faith in question 
So mainly as my merit. I cannot sing, 
Nor heel the high lavolt, nor sweeten talk. 
Nor play at subtle games, — fair virtues all. 
To which the Grecians are most prompt and preg- 
nant, — 
But I can tell that in each grace of these 
There lurks a still and dumb-discoursive devil 90 

That tempts most cunningly ; but be not tempted. 

Cirssida. Do you think I will ? 

Troilus. No. 
But something may be done that we will not ; 
And sometimes we are devils to ourselves 
When we will tempt the frailty of our powers, 
Presuming on their changeful potency. 

^neas. \Within\ Nay, good my lord, — 

Troilus. Come, kiss ; and let us part. 

Paris. [ IVilhn'] Brother Troilus ! 

Troilus. Good brother, come you hither ; 

And bring JEneas and the Grecian with you. loc 

Cressida. My lord, will you be true ? 

Troilus. Who, I ? alas, it is my vice, my fault. 
Whiles others fish with craft for great opinion, 
I with great truth catch mere simplicity ; 
Whilst some with cunning gild their copper crowns. 
With truth and plainness I do wear mine bare. 
Fear not my truth ; the moral of my wit 
Is ' plain and true,' — there 's all the reach of it. — 



Scene IV] Troilus and Cressida 131 

Enter ^neas, Paris, Antenor, Deiphobus, and 

DiOMEDES 

Welcome, Sir Diomed ! here is the lady 

Which for Antenor we deliver you. no 

At the port, lord, I '11 give her to thy hand, 

And by the way possess thee what she is. 

Entreat her fair ; and, by my soul, fair Greek, 

If e'er thou stand at mercy of my sword, 

Name Cressid and thy life shall be as safe 

As Priam is in Ilion. 

Diomedes. Fair Lady Cressid, 

So please you, save the thanks this prince expects. 
The lustre in your eye, heaven in your cheek, 
Pleads your fair usage ; and to Diomed 
You shall be mistress and command him wholly. 120 

Troilus. Grecian, thou dost not use me courteously. 
To shame the zeal of my petition to thee 
In praising her. I tell thee, lord of Greece, 
She is as far high-soaring o'er thy praises 
As thou unworthy to be call'd her servant. 
I charge thee use her well, even for my charge ; 
For, by the dreadful Pluto, if thou do'st not. 
Though the great bulk Achilles be thy guard, 
I '11 cut thy throat. 

Diomedes. O, be not mov'd, Prince Troilus. 

Let me be privileg'd by my place and message 130 

To be a speaker free ; when I am hence, 
I '11 answer to my lust, and know you, lord. 



132 Troilus and Cressida [Act iv 

I '11 nothing do on charge. To her own worth 
She shall be priz'd ; but that you say ' be 't so,' 
I '11 speak it in my spirit and honour, ' no.' 

Troilus. Come, to the port. — I '11 tell thee, Diomed, 
This brave shall oft make thee to hide thy head. — - 
Lady, give me your hand, and, as we walk. 
To our own selves bend we our needful talk. 

[Exeunt Troilus, Cressida, and Dioinedes. 

\Trumpet within. 

Paris. Hark ! Hector's trumpet. 

jEneas. How have we spent this morning ! 

The prince must think me tardy and remiss 141 

That swore to ride before him to the field. 

Paris. 'T is Troilus' fault. Come, come, to field 
with him. 

Deiphobus. Let us make ready straight. 

jEneas. Yea, with a bridegroom's fresh alacrity. 
Let us address to tend on Hector's heels. 
The glory of our Troy doth this day lie 
On his fair worth and single chivalry. \Exeunt. 

Scene V. The Grecian Camp. Lists set out 

Enter Ajax, ar77ied ; Agamemnon, Achilles, Patro- 
CLUS, Menelaus, Ulysses, Nestor, and others 

Agamemnon. Here art thou in appointment fresh 
and fair. 
Anticipating time with starting courage. 
Give with thy trumpet a loud note to Troy, 



Scene V] Troilus and Cressida 133 

Thou dreadful Ajax, that the appalled air 
May pierce the head of the great combatant 
And hale him hither. 

Ajax. Thou, trumpet, there 's my purse. 

Now crack thy lungs, and split thy brazen pipe ; 
Blow, villain, till thy sphered bias cheek 
Outswell the colic of puff'd Aquilon. 
Come, stretch thy chest, and let thy eyes spout blood ; 10 
Thou blow'st for Hector. \Trumpet sounds. 

Ulysses. No trumpet answers. 

Achilles. 'T is but early days. 

Agamemnon. Is not yond Diomed, with Calchas' 
daughter ? 

Ulysses. 'T is he, I ken the manner of his gait. 
He rises on the toe ; that spirit of his 
In aspiration lifts him from the earth. 

Enter Diomedes, with Cressida 

Agamemnon. Is this the lady Cressid ? 

Diomedes. Even she. 

Agamemnon. Most dearly welcome to the Greeks, 
sweet lady. 

Nestor. Our general doth salute you with a kiss. 

Ulysses. Yet is the kindness but particular ; 20 

'T were better she were kiss'd in general. 

Nestor. And very courtly counsel ; I'll begin. — 
So much for Nestor. 

Achilles. I '11 take that winter from your lips, fair 
lady; 
Achilles bids you welcome. 



134 Xroilus and Cressida [Act iv 

Menelaus. I had good argument for kissing once. 

Patroclus. But that 's no argument for kissing now ; 
For thus popp'd Paris in his hardiment, 
And parted thus you and your argument. 29 

Ulysses. O deadly gall, and theme of all our scorns, 
For which we lose our heads to gild his horns! 

Patroclus. The first was Menelaus' kiss ; this, mine. 
Patroclus kisses you. 

Menelaus. O, this is trim! 

Patroclus. Paris and I kiss evermore for him. 

Menelaus. I '11 have my kiss, sir. — Lady, by your 
leave. 

Cressida. In kissing, do you render or receive ? 

Patroclus. Both take and give. 

Cressida. I '11 make my match to live, 

The kiss you take is better than you give ; 
Therefore no kiss. 

Menelaus. I '11 give you boot, I'll give you three for 
one. 40 

Cressida. You 're an odd man ; give even, or give 
none. 

Menelaus. An odd man, lady ! every man is odd. 

Cressida. No, Paris is not ; for you know 't is true 
That you are odd, and he is even with you. 

Menelaus. You fillip me o' the head. 

Cressida. No, I '11 be sworn. 

Ulysses. It were no match, your nail against his 
horn. — 
May I, sweet lady, beg a kiss of you ? 



Scene V] Troilus and Cressida 135 

Cressida. You may. 

Ulysses. I do desire it. 

Cressida. Why, beg, then. 

Ulysses. Why then, for Venus' sake, give me a kiss, 
When Helen. is a maid again, and his. 50 

Cressida. I am your debtor, claim it when 't is due, 

Ulysses. Never 's my day, and then a kiss of youo 

Diomedes. Lady, a word. I '11 bring you to your 
father. \^Exit with Cressida. 

Nestor. A woman of quick sense. 

Ulysses. Fie, fie upon her ! 

Ther^e 's language in her eye, her cheek, her hp, 
Xay, her foot speaks ; her wanton spirits look out 
At every joint and motive of her body. 
(), these encounterers, so glib of tongue, 
I'hat give a coasting welcome ere it comes, 
And wide unclasp the tables of their thoughts 60 

To every ticklish reader ! set them down 
For sluttish spoils of opportunity 
And daughters of the game. \Trumpet within. 

All. The Trojans' trumpet. 

Aganienino?i. Yonder comes the troop. 

Enter Hector, armed ; ^neas, Troilus, and other 
Trojans, with Attendants 

.^neas. Hail, all you state of Greece ! what shall 
be done 
To him that victory commands ? or do you purpose 



136 Troilus and Cressida [Act iv 

A victor shall be known ? will you the knights 

Shall to the edge of all extremity 

Pursue each other, or shall be divided 

By any voice or order of the field ? 70 

Hector bade ask. 

Agamemnon. Which way would Hector have it ? 

vEneas, He cares not ; he '11 obey conditions. 

Achilles. 'T is done like Hector ; but securely done, 
A little proudly, and great deal misprizing 
The knight oppos'd. 

yEneas. If not Achilles, sir, 

What is your name ? 

Achilles. If not Achilles, nothing. 

yEneas. Therefore Achilles ; but, whate'er, know this : 
In the extremity of great and little, 
Valour and pride excel themselves in Hector ; 
The one almost as infinite as all, 80 

The other blank as nothing. Weigh him well, 
And that which looks like pride is courtesy. 
This Ajax is half made of Hector's blood, 
In love whereof half Hector stays at home ; 
Half heart, half hand, half Hector comes to seek 
This blended knight, half Trojan and half Greek. 

Achilles. A maiden battle, then ? — 0,1 perceive you ! 

Re-enter Diomedes 

Agamemnon. Here is Sir Diomed. Go, gentle knight, 
Stand by our Ajax, As you and Lord ^neas 
Consent upon the order of their fight, 90 



Scene V] Troilus and Cressida 137 

So be it, — either to the uttermost 

Or else a breath ; the combatants being kin 

Half stints their strife before their strokes begin. 

\Ajax and Hector enter the lists. 

Ulysses. They are oppos'd already. 

Agamemnon. What Trojan is that same that looks so 
heavy ? 

Ulysses. The youngest son of Priam, a true knight, 
Not yet mature, yet matchless, firm of word, 
Speaking in deeds, and deedless in his tongue ; 
Not soon provok'd, nor being provok'd soon calm'd ; 
His heart and hand both open and both free ; 100 

For what he has he gives, what thinks he shows. 
Yet gives he not till judgment guide his bounty. 
Nor dignifies an impair thought with breath ; 
Manly as Hector, but more dangerous ; 
For Hector in his blaze of wrath subscribes 
To tender objects, but he in heat of action 
Is more vindicative than jealous love. 
They call him Troilus, and on him erect 
A second hope, as fairly built as Hector. 
Thus says ^Eneas ; one that knows the youth no 

Even to his inches, and with private soul 
Did in great Ilion thus translate him to me. 

\j\larum. Hector and Aj ax fight. 

Agamemnon. They are in action. 

Nestor. Now, Ajax, hold thine own ! 

Troilus. Hector, thou sleep'st ; 

Awake thee 1 



138 Troilus and Cressida [Act IV 

Agamemnon, His blows are well dispos'd. — There, 
Ajax ! 

Diomedes. You must no more. \Trumpets cease. 

^7ieas. Princes, enough, so please you. 

AJax. I am not warm yet ; let us fight again. 

Diomedes. As Hector pleases. 

Hector. Why, then will I no more. — 

Thou art, great lord, my father's sister's son, 120 

A cousin-german to great Priam's seed; 
The obligation of our blood forbids 
A gory emulation 'twixt us twain. 
Were thy commixtion Greek and Trojan so 
That thou couldst say ' This hand is Grecian all 
And this is Trojan, the sinews of this leg 
All Greek and this all Troy, my mother's blood 
Runs on the dexter cheek and this sinister 
Bounds in my father's," by Jove multipotent, 
Thou shouldst not bear from me a Greekish member 
Wherein my sword had not impressure made 131 

Of our rank feud ; but the just gods gainsay 
That any drop thou borrow'dst from thy mother. 
My sacred aunt, should by my mortal sword 
Be drain'd ! Let me embrace thee, Ajax. — 
By him that thunders, thou hast lusty arms ! 
Hector would have them fall upon him thus. 
Cousin, all honour to thee ! 

Ajax. I thank thee, Hector ; 

Thou art too gentle and too free a man. 
I came to kill thee, cousin, and bear hence 140 



Scene V] Troilus and Cressida 139 

A great addition earned in thy death. 

Hector. Not Neoptolemus so mirable, 
On whose bright crest Fame with her loud'st oyes 
Cries ' This is he,' could promise to himself 
A thought of added hofiour torn from Hector. 

^"Eneas. There is expectance here from both the sides 
What further you will do. 

Hector. We '11 answer it ; 

The issue is embracement. — Ajax, farewell. 

Ajax. If I might in entreaties find success — 
As seld I have the chance — I would desire 150 

My famous cousin to our Grecian tents. 

Diomedes. 'T is Agamemnon's wish, and great 
Achilles 
Doth long to see unarm 'd the valiant Hector. 

Hector. vEneas, call my brother Troilus to me, 
And signify this loving interview 
To the expecters of our Trojan part ; 
Desire them home. — Give me thy hand, my cousin ; 
I will go eat with thee and see your knights. 

Ajax, Great Agamemnon comes to meet us here. 

Hector. The worthiest of them tell me name by name ; 
But' for Achilles, mine own searching eyes 161 

Shall find him by his large and portly size. 

Agamemnon. Worthy of arms ! as welcome as to one 
That would be rid of such an enemy. 
But that 's no welcome ; understand more clear, 
What 's past and what 's to come is strew'd with husks 
And formless ruin of oblivion, 



140 Troilus and Cressida [Act IV 

But in this extant moment faith and troth, 

Strain 'd purely from all hollow bias-drawing, 

Bids thee, with most divine integrity, 170 

From heart of very heart, great Hector, welcome. 

Hector. I thank thee, most imperious Agamemnon. 

Agatnemnon. [To Troi'hs] My well-fam'd lord of 
Troy, no less to you. 

Menelaus. Let me confirm my princely brother's 
greeting ; 
You brace of warlike brothers, welcome hither. 

Hector. Who must we answer ? 

Alneas. The noble Menelaus. 

Hector. O, you, my lord ? by Mars his gauntlet, 
thanks ! 
Mock not that I affect the untraded oath ; 
Your quondam wife swears still by Venus' glove. 
She 's well, but bade me not commend her to you. 180 

Menelaus. Name her not now, sir; she 's a deadly 
theme. 

Hector. O, pardon ! I offend. 

Nestor. I have, thou gallant Trojan, seen thee oft, 
Labouring for destiny, make cruel way 
Through ranks of Greekish youth, and I have seen thee, 
As hot as Perseus, spur thy Phrygian steed, 
Despising many forfeits and subduements. 
When thou hast hung thy advanced sword i' the air. 
Not letting it decline on the declin'd, 
That I have said to some my standers by, 190 

' Lo, Jupiter is yonder, dealing life ! ' 



Scene V] Troilus and Cressida 141 

And I have seen thee pause and take thy breath, 

When that a ring of Greeks have hemm'd thee in, 

Like an Olympian wrestUng ; this have I seen, 

But this thy countenance, still lock'd in steel, 

I never saw till now. I knew thy grandsire, 

And once fought with him ; he was a soldier good, 

But, by great Mars, the captain of us all. 

Never like thee. Let an old man embrace thee ; 

And, worthy warrior, welcome to our tents. 200 

^neas. 'T is the old Nestor. 

Hector. Let me embrace thee, good old chronicle, 
That hast so long walk'd hand in hand with Time. 
Most reverend Nestor, I am glad to clasp thee. 

Nestor. I would my arms could match thee in con- 
tention, 
As they contend with thee in courtesy. 

Hector. I would they could. 

Nestor. Ha ! 
By this white beard, I 'd fight with thee to-morrow. 
Well, welcome, welcome ! — I have seen the time — 

Ulysses. I wonder now how yonder city stands 211 
When we have here her base and pillar by us. 

Hector. I know your favour, Lord Ulysses, well. 
Ah, sir, there 's many a Greek and Trojan dead 
Since first I saw yourself and Diomed 
In Ilion, on your Greekish embassy. 

Ulysses. Sir, I foretold you then what would ensue. 
My prophecy is but half his journey yet ; 
For yonder walls, that pertly front your town, 



142 Troilus and Cressida [Act iv 

Yond towers, whose wanton tops do buss the clouds, 
Must kiss their own feet. 

Hector. I must not believe you. 221 

There they stand yet, and modestly I think 
The fall of every Phrygian stone will cost 
A drop of Grecian blood ; the end crowns all, 
And that old common arbitrator, Time, 
Will one day end it. 

Ulysses. So to him we leave it. 

Most gentle and most valiant Hector, welcome. 
After the general, I beseech you next 
To feast with me and see me at my tent. 

Achilles. I shall forestall thee, Lord Ulysses, thou ! — 
Now, Hector, I have fed mine eyes on thee ; 231 

I have with exact view perus'd thee, Hector, 
And quoted joint by joint. 

Hector. Is this Achilles ? 

Achilles. I am Achilles. 

Hector. Stand fair, I pray thee ; let me look on thee. 

Achilles. Behold thy fill. 

Hector. Nay, I have done already. 

Achilles. Thou art too brief ; I will the second time. 
As I would buy thee, view thee limb by limb. 

Hector. O, like a book of sport thou 'It read me o'er; 
But there 's more in me than thou understand'st. 240 
Why dost thou so oppress me with thine eye ? 

Achilles. Tell me, you heavens, in which part of his 
body 
Shall I destroy him t whether there, or there, or there ? 



Scene V] Troilus and Cressida 143 

That I may give the local wound a name 
And make distinct the very breach whereout 
Hector's great spirit flew ; answer me, heavens ! 

Hector. It would discredit the blest gods, proud man, 
To answer such a question. Stand again. 
Think'st thou to catch my life so pleasantly 
As to prenominate in nice conjecture 250 

Where thou wilt hit me dead ? 

Achilles. I tell thee, yea. 

Hector. Wert thou an oracle to tell me so, 
I 'd not believe thee. Henceforth guard thee well ; 
For I '11 not kill thee there, nor there, nor there, 
But, by the forge that stithied Mars his helm, 
I '11 kill thee every where, yea, o'er and o'er. — 
You wisest Grecians, pardon me this brag ; 
His insolence draws folly from my lips. 
But I '11 endeavour deeds to match these words. 
Or may I never — 

Ajax. Uo not chafe thee, cousin. — 260 

And you, Achilles, let these threats alone 
Till accident or purpose bring you to 't. 
You may have every day enough of Hector 
If you have stomach ; the general state, I fear. 
Can scarce entreat you to be odd with him. 

Hector. I pray you, let us see you in the field ; 
We have had pelting wars since you refus'd 
The Grecians' cause. 

Achilles. Dost thou entreat me, Hector ? 

To-morrow do I meet thee, fell as death ; 



144 Troilus and Cressida [Act iv 

To-night all friends. 

Hector. Thy hand upon that match. 270 

Agamemnon. First, all you peers of Greece, go to my 
tent ; 
There in the full convive we ; afterwards, 
As Hector's leisure and your bounties shall 
Concur together, severally entreat him. — 
Beat loud the tambourines, let the trumpets blow, 
That this great soldier may his welcome know. 

\Exeunt all except Troilus and Ulysses. 

Troilus. My Lord Ulysses, tell me, I beseech you, 
In what place of the field doth Calchas keep ? 

Ulysses. At Menelaus' tent, most princely Troilus ; 
There Diomed doth feast with him to-night, 280 

Who neither looks upon the heaven nor earth, 
But gives all gaze and bent of amorous view 
On the fair Cressid. 

Troilus. Shall I, sweet lord, be bound to you so 
much. 
After we part from Agamemnon's tent, 
To bring me thither ? 

Ulysses. You shall command me, sir. 

As gentle tell me, of what honour was 
This Cressida in Troy ? Had she no lover there 
That wails her absence ? 

Troilus. O, sir, to such as boasting show their scars 
A mock is due ! Will you walk on, my lord ? 291 

She was belov'd, she lov'd ; she is, and doth ; 
But still sweet love is food for fortune's tooth. [Exeunt. 




The Death of Hector 



ACT V 

Scene I. The Grecian Camp. Before Achilles'' Tent 

Enter Achilles and Patroclus 

Achilles. I '11 heat his blood with Greekish wine 
to-night, 



TROILUS — lO 



145 



146 Troilus and Cressida [Act V 

Which with my scimitar I '11 cool to-morrow. — 
Patroclus, let us feast him to the height, 
Patroclus. Here comes Thersites. 

Enter Thersites 

Achilles. How now, thou core of envy ! 

Thou crusty batch of nature, what 's the news ? 

Thersites. Why, thou picture of what thou seemest, 
and idol of idiot-worshippers, here 's a letter for thee. 

Achilles. From whence, fragment ? 

Thersites. Why, thou full dish of fool, from Troy. 

Patroclus. Who keeps the tent now ? 10 

Thersites. The surgeon's box or the patient's 
wound. 

Patroclus. Well said, adversity ! and what need 
these tricks ? 

Thersites. Prithee, be silent, boy, I profit not by 
thy talk ; thou art thought to be Achilles' male varlet. 

Patroclus. Male varlet, you rogue ! what's that? 17 

Thersites. Why, his masculine whore. Now, the 
rotten diseases of the south, the guts-griping, rup- 
tures, catarrhs, loads o' gravel i' the back, lethargies, 
cold palsies, raw eyes, dirt-rotten livers, wheezing 
lungs, bladders full of imposthume, sciaticas, lime- 
kilns i' the palm, incurable bone-ache, and the riv- 
elled fee-simple of the tetter, take and take again 
such preposterous discoveries ! 

Patroclus. Why, thou damnable box of envy, thou, 
what meanest thou to curse thus ? 



Scene I] Troilus and Cressida 147 

Thersites. Do I curse thee ? 

Patroclus. Why, no, you ruinous butt, you whore- 
son indistinguishable cur, no. 30 

Thersites. No! why art thou then exasperate, 
thou idle immaterial skein of sleave-silk, thou green 
scarcenet flap for a sore eye, thou tassel of a prodi- 
gal's purse, thou ? Ah, how the poor world is pes- 
tered with such waterflies, diminutives of nature ! 

Patroclus. Out, gall ! 

Thersites. Finch-egg ! 

Achilles. My sweet Patroclus, I am thwarted quite 
From my great purpose in to-morrow's battle. 
Here is a letter from Queen Hecuba, 40 

A token from her daughter, my fair love, 
Both taxing me and gaging me to keep 
An oath that I have sworn. I will not break it. 
Fall Greeks, fail fame, honour or go or stay. 
My major vow lies here, this I '11 obey. — 
Come, come, Thersites, help to trim my tent ; 
This night in banqueting must all be spent. — 47 

Away, Patroclus ! \^Exeunt Achilles and Patroclus. 

Thersites. With too much blood and too little 
brain, these two may run mad ; but, if with too 
much brain and too little blood they do, I '11 be a 
curer of madmen. Here 's Agamemnon, an honest 
fellow enough, and one that loves quails, but he has 
not so much brain as ear-wax ; and the goodly trans- 
formation of Jupiter there, his brother, the bull, — 
the primitive statue and oblique memorial of cuck- 



148 Troilus and Cressida [Act V 

olds, a thrifty shoeing-horn in a chain hanging at his 
brother's leg, — to what form but that he is should wit 
larded with malice and malice forced with wit turn 
him to ? To an ass were nothing, he is both ass and 
ox ; to an ox were nothing, he is both ox and ass. 
To be a dog, a mule, a cat, a fitchew, a toad, a liz- 
ard, an owl, a puttock, or a herring without a roe, I 
would not care ; but to be Menelaus ! I would con- 
spire against destiny. Ask me not what I would be 
if I were not Thersites, for I care not to be the louse 
of a lazar, so I were not Menelaus. — Hey-day ! 
spirits and fires ! 

Enter Hector, Troilus, Ajax, Agamemnon, Ulysses, 
Nestor, Menelaus, and Diomedes, with lights 

Agamemnon. We go wrong, we go wrong. 
Ajax. No, yonder 't is ; 

There, where we see the lights. 

Hector. I trouble you. 70 

Ajax. No, not a whit. 

Ulysses. Here comes himself to guide you. 

Re-enter Achilles 

Achilles. Welcome, brave Hector ; welcome, princes 

all. 
Agamemnon. So now, fair Prince of Troy, I bid 

good night. 
Ajax commands the guard to tend on you. 

Hector. Thanks and good night to the Greeks' 

general. 



Scene I] Troilus and Cressida 149 

Menelaus. Good night, my lord. 

Hector. Good night, sweet Lord Menelaus. 

Thersites. Sweet draught ; sweet, quoth 'a ! sweet 
sink, sweet sewer. 

Achilles. Good night and welcome, both at once, to 
those 
That go or tarry. 

Agame7nnon. Good night. 

\_Exeunt Agamemnon and Menelaus. 

Achilles. Old Nestor tarries ; and you too, Diomed, 
Keep Hector company an hour or two. 

Diomedes. I cannot, lord ; I have important business. 
The tide whereof is now. — Good night, great Hector. 

Hector. Give me your hand. 

Ulysses. [Aside to Troilus'] Follow his torch ; he goes 
to Calchas' tent. 86 

I '11 keep you company. 

Troilus. Sweet sir, you honour me. 

Hector. And so, good night. 

[Exit Diomedes ; Ulysses and Troilus following. 

Achilles. Come, come, enter my tent. 

[Exeunt Achilles^ Hector, Ajax, and Nestor. 

Thersites. That same Diomed 's a false-hearted 
rogue, a most unjust knave ; I will no more trust 
him when he leers than , I will a serpent when he 
hisses. He will spend his mouth and promise, like 
Brabbler the hound, but when he performs, astron- 
omers foretell it ; it is prodigious, there will come 
some change ; the sun borrows of the moon, when 



T 50 Troilus and Cressida [Act V 

Diomed keeps his word. I will rather leave to see 
Hector than not to dog him ; they say he keeps a 
Trojan drab, and uses the traitor Calchas' tent. I '11 

after. — Nothing but lechery ! all incontinent varlets ! 

\Exit. 

Scene II. The Same. Before Calchas' s Tent 
Enter Diomedes 

Diomedes. What, are you up here, ho ? speak. 

Calchas. [ Within'\ Who calls ? 

Diomedes. Diomed. — Calchas, I think. — Where's 
your daughter? 

Calchas. \Within'\ She comes to you. 

Enter Troilus and Ulysses, at a distance ; after them, 

Thersites 

Ulysses. Stand where the torch may not discover us. 

Enter Cressida 

Troilus. Cress id comes forth to him. 
Diomedes. How now, my charge ! 

Cressida. Now, my sweet guardian ! Hark, a word 
with you. [ Whispers. 

Troilus. Yea, so familiar ! 
Ulysses. She will sing any man at first sight. 
Thersites. And any man may sing her, if he can 
take her cliff ; she 's noted. n 

Dio7nedes. Will you remember ? 
Cressida. Remember ! yes. 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 151 

Diojnedes. Nay, but do, then. 
And let your mind be coupled with your words. 

Troilus. What should she remember ? 

Ulysses. List. 

Cressida. Sweet honey Greek, tempt me no more to 
folly. 

Thersites. Roguery ! 

Diomedes. Nay, then, — 20 

Cressida. I '11 tell you what, — 

Diomedes. Foh, foh ! come, tell a pin ; you are for- 
sworn. 

Cressida. In faith, I cannot ; what would you have 
me do? 

Thersites. A juggling trick, — to be secretly open. 

Diojnedes. What did you swear you would bestow on 
me ? 

Cressida. I prithee, do not hold me to mine oath ; 
Bid me do any thing but that, sweet Greek. 

Diomedes. Good night. 

Troilus. Hold, patience ! 

Ulysses. How now, Trojan ! 30 

Cressida. Diomed, — 

Diomedes. ■ No, no, good night ; I '11 be your fool no 
more. 

Troilus. Thy better must. 

Cressida. Hark, one word in your ear. 

Troilus. O plague and madness ! 

Ulysses. You are mov'd, prince ; let us depart, I pray 
you, 



152 Troilus and Cressida [Act v 

Lest your displeasure should enlarge itself 
To wrathful terms. This place is dangerous, 
The time right deadly ; I beseech you, go. 

Troilus. Behold, I pray you ! 

Ulysses. Nay, good my lord, go off. 

You flow to great distraction ; come, my lord. 41 

TroiliLs. I pray thee, stay. 

Ulysses. You have not patience ; come. 

Troilus. I pray you, stay ; by hell and all hell's tor- 
ments, 
I will not speak a word ! 

Diomedes. And so, good night. 

Cressida. Nay, but you part in anger. 

Troilus. Doth that grieve thee ? 

wither'd truth ! 

Ulysses. Why, how now, my lord ! 

Troilus. By Jove, 

1 will be patient. 

Cressida. Guardian ! — why, Greek ! 

Diomedes. Foh, foh ! adieu ; you palter. 

C^'essida. In faith, I do not ; come hither once again. 

Ulysses. You shake, my lord, at something ; will you 
go? 50 

You will break out. 

Troilus. She strokes his cheek ! 

Ulysses. Come, come. 

Troilus. Nay, stay; by Jove, I will not speak a 
word. 
There is between my will and all offences 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 153 

A guard of patience ; stay a little while. 

Thersites. How the devil Luxury, with his fat 
rump and potato-finger, tickles these together ! Fry, 
lechery, fry ! 

Diomedes. But will you, then ? 

Cressida. In faith^ I will, la ; never trust me else. 

Diomedes. Give me some token for the surety of it. 

Cressida. I '11 fetch you one. \^Exit. 

Ulysses. You have sworn patience. 

Troilus. Fear me not, sweet lord ; 

I will not be myself, nor have cognition 63 

Of what I feel : I am all patience. 

Re-enter Cressida 

Thersites. Now the pledge ; now, now, now ! 

Cressida. Here, Diomed, keep this sleeve. 

Troilus. O beauty ! where is thy faith ? 

Ulysses. My lord, — 

Troilus. I will be patient ; outwardly I will. 

Cressida. You look upon that sleeve ; behold it well. 
He lov'd me — O false wench ! — Give 't me again. 

Diomedes. Whose was 't ? 71 

Cressida. It is no matter, now I have 't again. 
I will not meet with you to-morrow night ; 
I prithee, Diomed, visit me no more. 

Thersites. Now she sharpens. — Well said, whetstone. 

Diojnedes. I shall have it. 

Cressida. What, this ? 

Diomedes. Ay, that. 



154 Troilus and Cressida [Act v 

Cressida. O, all you gods ! — O pretty, pretty pledge ! 
Thy master now lies thinking in his bed 
Of thee and me, and sighs, and takes my glove 
And gives memorial dainty kisses to it, 80 

As I kiss thee. Nay, do not snatch it from me ; 
He that takes that doth take my heart withal. 

Diomedes. I had your heart before, this follows it. 

Troilus. I did swear patience. 

Cressida. You shall not have it, Diomed ; faith, you 
shall not, 
I '11 give you something else. 

Diomedes. I will have this. Whose was it ? 

Cressida. It is no matter. 

Diomedes. Come, tell me whose it was. 

Cressida. 'Twas one's that lov'd me better than 
you will. 
But, now you have it, take it. 

Diomedes. Whose was it ? 90 

Cressida. By all Diana's waiting-women yond, 
And by herself, I will not tell you whose. 

Diomedes. To-morrow will I wear it on^my helm. 
And grieve his spirit that dares not challenge it. 

Troilus. Wert thou the devil, and wor'st it on thy horn. 
It should be challeng'd. 

Cressida. Well, well, 't is done, 't is past, — and yet 
it is not ; 
I will not keep my word. 

Diomedes. Why, then, farewell ; 

Thou never shalt mock Diomed again. 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 155 

Cressida. You shall not go. — One cannot speak a 
word 100 

But it straight starts you. 

Diomedes. I do not like this fooling. 

Thersites. Nor I, by Pluto ; but that that likes not 
you pleases me best. 

Diomedes. What, shall I come ? the hour ? 

Cressida. Ay, come. — O Jove ! — do come. — I 
shall be plagu'd. 

Diomedes. Farewell till then. 

Cressida. Good night ; I prithee, come. — 

S^Exit Diomedes. 
Troilus, farewell ! one eye yet looks on thee, 
But with my heart the other eye doth see. 
Ah, poor our sex ! this fault in us I find, 
The error of our eye directs our mind. no 

What error leads must err ; O, then conclude 
Minds sway'd by eyes are full of turpitude ! \^Exit. 

Thersites. A proof of strength she could not pub- 
lish more. 
Unless she said, ' My mind is now turn'd whore.' 

Ulysses. All 's done, my lord. 

Troilus. It is. 

Ulysses. Why stay we, then ? 

Troilus. To make a recordation to my soul 
Of every syllable that here was spoke. 
But if I tell how these two did co-act. 
Shall I not lie in publishing a truth ? 
Sith yet there is a credence in my heart, 120 



156 Troilus and Cressida [Act V 

An esperance so obstinately strong, 
That doth invert the attest of eyes and ears, 
As if those organs had deceptions functions, 
Created only to calumniate. 
Was Cressid here ? 

Ulysses. I cannot conjure, Trojan. 

Troilus. She was not, sure. 

Ulysses. Most sure she was. 

Troilus. Why, my negation hath no taste of mad- 
ness. 

Ulysses, Nor mine, my lord ; Cressid was here but 
now. 

Troilus. Let it not be believ'd for womanhood ! 
Think, we had mothers ; do not give advantage 130 

To stubborn critics — apt, without a theme. 
For depravation — to square the general sex 
By Cressid 's rule ; rather think this not Cressid. 

Ulysses. What hath she done, prince, that can soil 
our mothers ? 

Troilus. Nothing at all, unless that this were she. 

Thersites. Will he swagger himself out on 's own 
eyes ? 

Troilus. This she ? no, this is Diomed's Cressida. 
If beauty have a soul, this is not she ; 
If souls guide vows, if vows be sanctimony, 140 

If sanctimony be the gods' delight. 
If there be rule in unity itself. 
This is not she. O madness of discourse 
That cause sets up with and against itself 1 



Scene II] Troilus and Cressida 157 

Bifold authority ! where reason can revolt 

Without perdition, and loss assume all reason 

Without revolt. This is, and is not, Cressid. 

Within my soul there doth conduce a fight 

Of this strange nature, that a thing inseparate 

Divides more wider than the sky and earth, 150 

And yet the spacious breadth of this division 

Admits no or if ex for a point as subtle 

As Ariachne's broken woof to enter. 

Instance, O instance ! strong as Pluto's gates ; 

Cressid is mine, tied with the bonds of heaven. 

Instance, O instance ! strong as heaven itself ; 

The bonds of heaven are slipp'd, dissolv'd, and loos'd, 

And with another knot, five-finger-tied. 

The fractions of her faith, orts of her love, 

The fragments, scraps, the bits and greasy relics 160 

Of her o'er-eaten faith, are bound to Diomed. 

Ulysses. May worthy Troilus be half attach'd 
With that which here his passion doth express ? 

Troilus. Ay, Greek, and that shall be divulged well 
In characters as red as Mars his heart 
Inflam'd with Venus ; never did young man fancy 
With so eternal and so fix'd a soul. 
Hark, Greek : as much as I do Cressid love, 
So much by weight hate I her Diomed. 
That sleeve is mine that he '11 bear on his helm ; 170 
Were it a casque compos 'd by Vulcan's skill. 
My sword should bite it. Not the dreadful spout 
Which shipmen do the hurricano call, 



158 Troilus and Cressida [Act V 

Constring'd in mass by the almighty sun, 
Shall dizzy with more clamour Neptune's ear 
In his descent than shall my prompted sword 
Falling on Diomed. 

Thersites. He'll tickle it for his concupy. 

Troihis. O Cressid ! O false Cressid ! false, false, 
false ! 
Let all untruths stand by thy stained name, 180 

And they '11 seem glorious. 

Ulysses. O, contain yourself ; 

Your passion draws ears hither. 

Enter tEneas 

^neas. I have been seeking you this hour, my lord. 
Hector, by this, is arming him in Troy ; 
Ajax, your guard, stays to conduct you home. 

Troilus. Have with you, prince. — My courteous 
lord, adieu. — 
Farewell, revolted fair ! — and, Diomed, 
Stand fast, and wear a castle on thy head ! 

Ulysses. I '11 bring you to the gates. 

Troilus. Accept distracted thanks. 190 

\_Exeunt Troilus., ySneas, and Ulysses. 

Thersites. Would I could meet that rogue Diomed ! 
I would croak like a raven ; I would bode, I would 
bode. Patroclus will give me any thing for the 
intelligence of this whore ; the parrot will not do 
more for an almond than he for a commodious 
drab. Lechery, lechery ! still, wars and lechery ! 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 159 

nothing else holds fashion. A burning devil take 
them ! \^Exit. 

Scene III. Ti-oy. Before Priam's Palace 

Enter Hector and Andromache 

Andromache. When was my lord so much ungently 
temper'd 
To stop his ears against admonishment ? 
Unarm, unarm, and do not fight to-day. 

Hector. You train me to offend you ; get you in. 
By all the everlasting gods, I '11 go ! 

Androjuache. My dreams will, sure, prove ominous 

to the day. 
Hector. No more, I say. 

Enter Cassandra 

Cassandra. Where is my brother Hector ? 

Andromache. Here, sister ; arm'd, and bloody in 
intent. 
Consort with me in loud and dear petition, 
Pursue we him on knees ; for I have dream'd 10 

Of bloody turbulence, and this whole night 
Hath nothing been but shapes and forms of slaughter. 
Cassandra. O, 't is true. 

Hector. Ho ! bid my trumpet sound ! 

Cassandra. No notes of sally, for the heavens, sweet 

brother. 
Hector. Be gone, I say ; the gods have heard me 
swear. 



i6o Troilus and Cressida [Act v 

Cassandra. The gods are deaf to hot and peevish 
vows ; 
They are polluted offerings, more abhorr'd 
Than spotted livers in the sacrifice. 

Andromache. O, be persuaded ! do not count it 
holy 
To hurt by being just ; it is as lawful, 20 

For we would give much, to so use violent thefts 
And rob in the behalf of charity. 

Cassandra. It is the purpose that makes strong the 
vow. 
But vows to every purpose must not hold. 
Unarm, sweet Hector. 

Hector. Hold you still, I say ; 

Mine honour keeps the weather of my fate. 
Life every man holds dear ; but the brave man 
Holds honour far more precious-dear than life. — 

Enter Troilus 

How now, young man ! mean'st thou to fight to-day ? 

Androfnache. Cassandra, call my father to persuade. 

[Exit Cassandra. 

Hector. No, faith, young Troilus, doff thy harness, 
youth ; 31 

I am to-day i' the vein of chivalry. 
Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong, 
And tempt not yet the brushes of the war. 
Unarm thee, go, and doubt thou not, brave boy, 
I '11 stand to-day for thee and me and Troy. 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida i6i 

Troilus. Brother, you have a vice of mercy in you 
Which better fits a lion than a man. 

Hector. What vice is that, good Troikis ? chide me 
for it. 

Troilus: When many times the captive Grecian falls, 
Even in the fan and wind of your fair sword, 41 

You bid them rise and live. 

Hector. O, 't is fair play. 

Troilus. Fool's play, by heaven. Hector. 

Hector. How now ! how now ! 

Troilus. For the love of all the gods, 

Let 's leave the hermit pity with our mothers 
And, when we have our armours buckled on, 
The venom'd vengeance ride upon our swords, 
Spur them to ruthful work, rein them from ruth ! 

Hector. Fie, savage, fie ! 

Troilus. Hector, then 't is wars. 

Hector. Troilus, I would not have you fight to-day. 

Troilus. Who should withhold me ? •i\ 

Not fate, obedience, nor the hand of Mars 
Beckoning with fiery truncheon my retire ; 
Not Priamus and Hecuba on knees, 
Their eyes o'ergalled with recourse of tears ; 
Nor you, my brother, with your true sword drawn, 
Oppos'd to hinder me, should stop my way 
But by my ruin. 

Re-enter Cassandra, with Priam 

Cassandra. Lay hold upon him, Priam, hold him fast. 

TROILUS — II 



1 62 Troilus and Cressida [Act v 

He is thy crutch ; now if thou lose thy stay, 60 

Thou on him leaning, and all Troy on thee. 
Fall all together. 

Priam. Come, Hector, come, go back. 

Thy wife hath dream 'd, thy mother hath had visions, 
Cassandra doth foresee, and I myself 
Am like a prophet suddenly enrapt 
To tell thee that this day is ominous ; 
Therefore, come back. 

Hector. vEneas is afield \ 

And I do stand engag'd to many Greeks, 
Even in the faith of valour, to appear 
This morning to them. 

Priam. Ay, but thou shalt not go. 70 

Hector. I must not break my faith. 
You know me dutiful ; therefore, dear sir, 
Let me not shame respect, but give me leave 
To take that course by your consent and voice 
Which you do here forbid me, royal Priam. 

Cassandra. O Priam, yield not to him ! 

Andromache. Do not, dear father. 

Hector. Andromache, I am offended with you ; 
Upon the love you bear me, get you in. 

\Exit Andromache. 

Troilus. This foolish, dreaming, superstitious girl 
Makes all these bodements. 

Cassandra. O, farewell, dear Hector ! 

Look, how thou diest ! look, how thy eye turns pale ! 
Look, how thy wounds do bleed at many vents ! 82 



Scene III] Troilus and Cressida 163 

Hark, how Troy roars ! how Hecuba cries out ! 
How poor Andromache shrills her dolours forth ! 
Behold, distraction, frenzy, and amazement, 
Like witless antics, one another meet, 
And all cry, ' Hector ! Hector 's dead ! O Hector ! ' 
Troilus. Away ! Away ! 

Cassandi-a. Farewell! — yet, soft! — Hector, I take 
my leave ; 
Thou dost thyself and all our Troy deceive. \Exit. 

Hector. You are amaz'd, my liege, at her exclaim. 91 
Go in and cheer the town ; we '11 forth and fight, 
Do deeds worth praise, and tell you them at night. 
Priam. Farewell ; the gods with safety stand about 
thee! 
[Exeunt severally Priam aiid Hector. Alarums. 
Troilus. They are at it, hark ! — Proud Diomed, 
believe, 
I come to lose my arm or win my sleeve. 

Enter Pandarus 

Pandarus. Do you hear, my lord ? do you hear ? 

Troilus. What now ? 

Pandarus. Here 's a letter come from yond poor 
girl. 

Troilus. Let me read. loi 

Pa7idarus. A whoreson tisick, a whoreson rascally 
tisick so troubles me, and the fooHsh fortune of this 
girl, and what one thing, what another, that I shall 
leave you one o' these days ; and I have a rheum in 



164 Troilus and Cressida [Act v 

mine eyes too, and such an ache in my bones that, 
unless a man were cursed, I cannot tell what to think 
on 't. — What says she there ? 

Troilus. Words, words, mere words, no matter from 
the heart ; 
The effect doth operate another way. — 

\Tearing the letter. 
Go, wind, to wind, there turn and change together. — 
My love with words and errors still she feeds, 112 

But edifies another with her deeds. [^Exeunt severally. 

Scene IV. Plains between Troy and the Grecian Camp 

Alarums. Excursions. Enter Thersites 

Thersites. Now they are clapper-clawing one an- 
other ; I '11 go look on. That dissembling abominable 
varlet, Diomed, has got that same scurvy doting fool- 
ish young knave's sleeve of Troy there in his helm. I 
would fain see them meet ; that that same young Tro- 
jan ass, that loves the whore there, might send that 
Greekish whoremasterly villain, with the sleeve, back 
to the dissembling luxurious drab, of a sleeveless er- 
rand. O' the t' other side, the policy of those crafty 
swearing rascals — that stale old mouse-eaten dry 10 
cheese, Nestor, and that same dog-fox, Ulysses — is 
not proved worth a blackberry. They set me up, in 
policy, that mongrel cur, Ajax, against that dog of 
as bad a kind, Achilles ; and now is the cur Ajax 
prouder than the cur Achilles, and will not arm to- 



Scene IV] Troilus and Cressida 165 

day, whereupon the Grecians begin to proclaim bar- 
barism and policy grows into an ill opinion. — Soft ! 
here comes sleeve and t' other. 

Enter Diomedes, Troilus following 

Troilus. Fly not ; for shouldst thou take the river 
Styx 
I would swim after. 

Dio7?iedes. Thou dost miscall retire ; 20 

I do not fly, but advantageous care 
Withdrew me from the odds of multitude. 
Have at thee ! 

Thersites. Hold thy whore, Grecian ! — now for thy 
whore, Trojan ! — now the sleeve, now the sleeve ! 

\_Exeunt Troilus and Diomedes., fighting. 

Enter Hector 

Hector. What art thou, Greek ? art thou for Hector's 
match ? 
Art thou of blood and honour ? 

Thersites. No, no, I am a rascal ; a scurvy railing 
knave, a very filthy rogue. 29 

Hector. I do believe thee ; live. \_Exit. 

Thersites. God-a-mercy, that thou wilt believe 
me ; but a plague break thy neck for frighting me ! 
What 's become of the wenching rogues ? I think 
they have swallowed one another. I would laugh 
at that miracle ; yet, in a sort, lechery eats itself. 
I '11 seek them. [Exit. 



t66 Troilus and Cressida [Act v 

Scene V. Another Part of the Plains 
Enter Diomedes and a Servant 

Diomedes. Go, go, my servant, take thou Troilus' 
horse ; 
Present the fair steed to my lady Cressid. 
Fellow, commend my service to her beauty ; 
Tell her I have chastis'd the amorous Trojan, 
And am her knight by proof. 

Servant. I go, my lord. [Exit. 

Enter Agamemnon 

Agamemno7i. Renew, renew ! The fierce Polydamas 
Hath beat down Menon ; bastard Margarelon 
Hath Doreus prisoner, 
And stands colossus-wise, waving his beam, 
Upon the pashed corses of the kings lo 

Epistrophus and Cedius ; Polyxenes is slain, 
Amphimachus and Thoas deadly hurt, 
Patroclus ta'en or slain, and Palamedes 
Sore hurt and bruis'd. The dreadful Sagittary 
Appals our numbers. Haste we, Diomed, 
To reinforcement, or we perish all. 

Enter Nestor 

Nestor. Go, bear Patroclus' body to Achilles ; 
And bid the snail-pac'd Ajax arm for shame. 
There is a thousand Hectors in the field. 
Now here he fights on Galathe his horse, 20 



Scene V] Troilus and Cressida 167 

And there lacks work ; anon he 's there afoot, 
And there they fly or die, Hke scaled sculls 
Before the belching whale ; then is he yonder, 
xAnd there the strawy Greeks, ripe for his edge, 
Fall down before him, like the mower's swath. 
Here, there, and every where, he leaves and takes, 
Dexterity so obeying appetite 
That what he will he does, and does so much 
That proof is call'd impossibility. 

Enter Ulysses 

Ulysses. O, courage, courage, princes ! great Achilles 
Is arming, weeping, cursing, vowing vengeance. 31 

Patroclus' wounds have rous'd his drowsy blood, 
Together with his mangled Myrmidons, 
That noseless, handless, hack'd and chipp'd, come to 

him, 
Crying on Hector. Ajax hath lost a friend 
And foams at mouth, and he is arm'd and at it, 
Roaring for Troilus, who hath done to-day 
Mad and fantastic execution, 
Engaging and redeeming of himself 
With such a careless force and forceless care 40 

As if that luck, in very spite of cunning, 
Bade him win all. 

Enter Ajax 

Ajax. Troilus ! thou coward Troilus 1 \Exit. 

Diomedes. Ay, there, there. 

Nestor. So, so, we draw together. 



1 68 Troilus and Cressida [Actv 

Enter Achilles 

Achilles. Where is this Hector ? 

Come, come, thou boy-queller, show thy face ; 
Know what it is to meet Achilles angry. 
Hector ! where 's Hector ? I will none but Hector. 

\Exeunt. 

Scene VI. Another Part of the Plains 

Enter Ajax 

Ajax. Troilus, thou coward Troilus, show thy head ! 

Enter Diomedes 

Diomedes. Troilus, I say ! where 's Troilus ? 
Ajax. What wouldst thou ? 

Diomedes. I would correct him. 
Ajax. Were I the general, thou shouldst have my 
office 
Ere that correction. — Troilus, I say ! what, Troilus ! ' > 

Enter Troilus 

Troilus. O traitor Diomed ! turn thy false face, thou 
traitor, 
And pay thy life thou ow'st me for my horse ! 
Diomedes. Ha, art thou there ? 
Ajax. I '11 fight with him alone ; stand, Diomed. 
Diomedes. He is my prize ; I will not look upon, lo 
Troilus. Come, both you cogging Greeks ; have at 
you both ! \_Exeunt, jighting. 



Scene VIJ Troilus and Cressida 169 

Enter Hector 

Hector. Yea, Troilus ? O, well fought, my youngest 
brother ! 

Enter Achilles 

Achilles. Now do I see thee, ha ! have at thee, 
Hector ! 

Hector. Pause, if thou wilt. 

Achilles. I do disdain thy courtesy, proud Trojan. 
Be happy that my arms are out of use. 
My rest and negligence befriends thee now. 
But thou anon shalt hear of me again ; 
Till when, go seek thy fortune. \Exit^ 

Hector. Fare thee well ; 

I would have been much more a fresher man, 20 

Had I expected thee. — How now, my brother ! 

Re-enter Troilus 

Troilus. Ajax hath ta'en ^neas ; shall it be ? 
No, by the flame of yonder glorious heaven. 
He shall not carry him ; I '11 be ta'en too. 
Or bring him off. — Fate, hear me what I say ! 
I reck not though I end my life to-day. \^Exit. 

Enter one in sumptuous armour 

Hector. Stand, stand, thou Greek ; thou art a goodly 
mark. — 
No ? wilt thou not ? I like thy armour well ; 
I '11 frush it and unlock the rivets all 29 



170 Troilus and Cressida , [Act V 

But I '11 be master of it. — Wilt thou not, beast, abide ? 
Why, then fly on, I '11 hunt thee for thy hide. \Exeunt. 

Scene VII. Another Part of the Plains 

Enter Achilles, with Myrmidons 

Achilles. Come here about me, you my Myrmidons ; 
Mark what I say. Attend me where I wheel. 
Strike not a stroke, but keep yourselves in breath, 
And when I have the bloody Hector found, 
Empale him with your weapons round about ; 
In fellest manner execute your arms. 
P'ollow me, sirs, and my proceedings eye. — 
It is decreed Hector the great must die. \Exeunt. 

^/^/^r Menelaus and Vakis, fighting : then Thersites 

Thersites. The cuckold and the cuckold-maker 
are at it. Now, bull ! now, dog ! 'Loo, Paris, 'loo ! 
now my double-henned sparrow ! 'loo, Paris, 'loo ! 
The bull has the game ; ware horns, ho ! 12 

\_Exeunt Paris and Menelaus. 

Enter Margarelon 

Margarelon. Turn, slave, and fight. 

Thersites. What art thou ? 

Maj'garelon. A bastard son of Priam's. 

Thersites. I am a bastard too ; I love bastards. 
I am a bastard begot, bastard instructed, bastard in 
mind, bastard in valour, in every thing illegitimate. 



Scene VIII] Troilus and Cressida 171 

One bear will not bite another, and wherefore should 
one bastard ? Take heed, the quarrel 's most ominous 
to us ; if the son of a whore fight for a whore, he 
tempts judgment. Farewell, bastard. \Exit. 

Margarelon. The devil take thee, coward ! \^Exit. 

Scene VIII. Another Part of the Plains 
Enter Hector 

Hector. Most putrefied core, so fair without, 
Thy goodly armour thus hath cost thy life. 
Now is my day's work done ; I '11 take good breath. 
Rest, sword ; thou hast thy fill of blood and death. 

\_Puts off his helmet and hangs his shield behind him. 

Enter Achilles and Myrmidons 

Achilles. Look, Hector, how the sun begins to set. 
How ugly night comes breathing at his heels ! 
Even with the vail and darking of the sun. 
To close the day up, Hector's life is done. 

Hector. I am unarm'd ; forego this vantage, Greek. 

Achilles. Strike, fellows, strike ; this is the man I 
seek. — [Hector falls. 

So, Ilion, fall thou next ! now, Troy, sink down ! n 

Here lies thy heart, thy sinews, and thy bone. — 
On, Myrmidons, and cry you all amain, 
Achilles hath the mighty Hector slain. — 

\A retreat sounded. 
Hark ! a retire upon our Grecian part. 



172 Troilus and Cressida [Act V 

Myrmidon. The Trojan trumpets sound the Uke, my 

lord. 
Achilles. The dragon wing of night o'erspreads the 
earth, 
And, stickler-like, the armies separates. 
My half-supp'd sword, that frankly would have fed, 
Pleas'd with this dainty bait, thus goes to bed. — 20 

\Sheathes his sword. 
Come, tie his body to my horse's tail ; 
Along the field I will the Trojan trail. [Exeunt. 



Scene IX. Another Part of the Plains 

Enter Agamemnon, Ajax, Menelaus, Nestor, Dio- 
MEDES, and others, marching. Shouts within 

Agamemnon. Hark ! hark ! what shout is that ? 
Nestor. Peace, drums ! 
[ Within'] Achilles ! Achilles ! Hector 's slain ! Achilles ! 
Diomedes. The bruit is. Hector 's slain, and by 

Achilles. 
Ajax. If it be so, yet bragless let it be ; 
Great Hector was a man as good as he. 

Agamemnon. March patiently along. Let one be 
sent 
To pray Achilles see us at our tent. — 
If in his death the gods have us befriended, 
Great Troy is ours and our sharp wars are ended. 10 

\_Exeunt marching. 



Scene X] Troilus and Cressida 173 

Scene X. Another Part of the Plains 

Enter ^neas and Trojans 

ufEneas. Stand, ho ! yet are we masters of the field. 
Never go home ; here starve we out the night. 

Enter Troilus 

Troilus, Hector is slain. 

All. Hector ! the gods forbid ! 

Troilus. He 's dead, and at the murtherer's horse's 
tail, 
In beastly sort, dragg'd through the shameful field. — 
Frown on, you heavens, effect your rage with speed ! 
Sit, gods, upon your thrones, and smile at Troy ! 
I say, at once let your brief plagues be mercy, 
And linger not our sure destructions on ! 

yEneas. My lord, you do discomfort ail the host. 10 

Troilus. You understand me not that tell me so. 
I do not speak of flight, of fear, of death. 
But dare all imminence that gods and men 
Address their dangers in. Hector is gone ! 
Who shall tell Priam so, or Hecuba ? 
Let him that will a screech-owl aye be call'd, 
Go in to Troy, and say there, ' Hector 's dead ! ' 
There is a word will Priam turn to stone, 
Make wells and Niobes of the maids and wives, 
Cold statues of the youth, and, in a word, 20 

Scare Troy out of itself. But, march away ; 
Hector is dead, there is no more to say. 



174 Troilus and Cressida [Act v 

Stay yet. — You vile abominable tents, 

Thus proudly pight upon our Phrygian plains, 

Let Titan rise as early as he dare, 

I '11 through and through you ! — and, thou great-siz'd 

coward, 
No space of earth shall sunder our two hates ; 
I'll haunt thee like a wicked conscience still 
That mouldeth goblins swift as frenzy's thoughts. — 
Strike a free march to Troy ! with comfort go ; 30 

Hope of revenge shall hide our inward woe. 

\Exeunt y£neas and Trojans. 

As Troilus is going out, enter, from the other side, 

Pandarus 

Pandarus. But hear you, hear you ! 
Troilus. Hence, broker-lackey ! ignomy and shame 
Pursue thy life and li\'e aye with thy name ! S^Exit. 

Pandarus. A goodly medicine for my aching 
bones ! — O world ! world ! world ! thus is the poor 
agent despised ! O traitors and bawds, how ear- 
nestly are you set a-work, and how ill requited ! why 
should our endeavour be so loved and the perform- 
ance so loathed ? what verse for it ? what instance 
for it ? Let me see : 41 

Full merrily the humble-bee doth sing- 
Till he hath lost his honey and his sting ; 
And being once subdued in armed tail, 
Sweet honey and sweet notes together fail. 
Good traders in the flesh, set this in your painted cloths : 



Scene X] Troilus and Cressida 175 

As many as be here of pander's hall, 

Your eyes, half out, weep out at Pandar's fall ; 

Or if you cannot weep, yet give some groans, 

Though not for me, yet for your aching bones. 50 

Brethren and sisters of the hold-door trade. 

Some two months hence my will shall here be made ; 

It should be now, but that my fear is this, — 

Some galled goose of Winchester would hiss. 

Till then I '11 sweat and seek about for eases, 

And at that time bequeath you my diseases. [Exit. 



NOTES 




Chaucer 



NOTES 



Introduction 



The Metre of the Play. — It should be understood at the 
outset that metre, or the mechanism of verse, is something alto- 
gether distinct from the music of verse. The one is matter of rule, 
the other of taste and feeling. Music is not an -absolute necessity 
of verse ; the metrical form is a necessity, being that which consti- 
tutes the verse. 

The plays of Shakespeare (with the exception of rhymed pas- 
sages, and of occasional songs and interludes) are all in unrhymed 
or blank verse ; and the normal form of this blank verse is illus- 
trated by i. I. I of the present play : "Call here my varlet ; 
I'll unarm again." 

This line, it will be seen, consists of ten syllables, with the even 
syllables (2d, 4th, 6th, 8th, and loth) accented, the odd syllables 
(ist, 3d, etc.) being unaccented. Theoretically, it is made up of 
five Z^^^" of two syllables each, with the accent on the second sylla- 
ble. Such a foot is called an iambus (plural, iambuses, or the Latin 
iambi), and the form of verse is called iambic. 

This fundamental law of Shakespeare's verse is subject to certain 
modifications, the most important of which are as follows : — 

179 



i8o Notes 

1. After the tenth syllable an unaccented syllable (or even two 
such syllables) may be added, forming what is sometimes called a 
female line ; as in i. i. 8 : " Fierce to their skill, and to their fierce- 
ness valiant." The rhythm is complete with the first syllable of 
valiant, the second being an extra eleventh syllable. In i. 2. 6 
(" He chid Andromache and struck his armourer ") we have two 
extra syllables, the rhythm being complete with the first syllable of 
armourer. 

2. The accent in any part of the verse may be shifted from an 
even to an odd syllable ; as in i. i. 5 : " Let him to field ; Troilus, 
alas! hath none ; " and i. I. 8, quoted above. In both lines the 
accent is shifted from the second to the first syllable. This change 
occurs very rarely in the tenth syllable, and seldom in the fourth ; 
and it is not allowable in two successive accented syllables. 

3. An extra unaccented syllable may occur in any part of the 
line ; as in i. i. 30 and 106. In 30 the second syllable of suffer- 
ance is superfluous ; and in 106 that of Ilium. In i. I. 60, the 
second syllable of spirit is superfluous as often. 

4. Any unaccented syllable, occurring in an even place immedi- 
ately before or after an even syllable which is properly accented, is 
reckoned as accented for the purposes of the verse ; as, for instance, 
in i. I. 10 and 12. In 10 the last syllable of ignorance, and in 12 
that of infancy are metrically equivalent to accented syllables ; 
and so with the last syllable of Pandarus (twice) in i. I. 50, 
and the last of comparison in i. i. 58. 

5. In many instances in Shakespeare words must be lengthened 
in order to fill out the rhythm : — 

{a) In a large class of words in which e or i is followed by 
another vowel, the e or i is made a separate syllable ; as ocean, 
opinion, soldier, patience, partial, marriage, etc. For instance, 
in this play, i. 3. 134 ("Of pale and bloodless emulation") appears 
to have only nine syllables, but emulation has five syllables ; and 
in i. 3, 166 oration is a quadrisyllable. Preventions in i. 3. 181 
and execution in i. 3. 210 are similarly lengthened. This length^ 



Notes i8i 

ening occurs most frequently at the end of the line, but in ii. 3. 
178 ("and that great minds, of partial indulgence" — a female 
line) par-tial is a trisyllable. 

{J}) Many monosyllables ending in r, re, rs, res, preceded by a 
long vowel or diphthong, are often made dissyllables ; 2^, fare, fear, 
dear, fire, hair, hour, more, your, etc. If the word is repeated 
in a verse it is often both monosyllable and dissyllable ; as in 
M. of V. iii. 2. 20 : " And so, though yours, not yours. Prove it 
so," where either yours (preferably the first) is a dissyllable, the 
other being a monosyllable. In y. C. iii. i. 172: "As fire drives 
out fire, so pity, pity," the first fire is a dissyllable. 

(r) Words containing / or r, preceded by another consonants 
are often pronounced as if a vowel came between or after the two ; 
as in i. 3. 30 : " Lies rich in virtue and unmingled [unmingl(e)ed] ; 
T. of S. ii. I. 158: "While she did call me rascal fiddler" 
[fiddl(e)er] ; All's Well, iii. 5. 43: "If you will tarry, holy pil- 
grim" [pilg(e)rimj; C. of E. v. i. 360: "These are the parents 
of these children " [childeren, the original form of the word] ; 
W. T. iv. 4. 76: "Grace and remembrance [rememb(e) ranee] 
be to you both!" etc. See also on secrets (iv. 2. 72). 

(^/) Monosyllabic exclamations {ay, O, yea, nay^ hail, etc.) and 
monosyllables otherwise emphasized are similarly lengthened ; also 
certain longer words; as cotnniandeiiient va. M. of V. (iv. I. 451); 
safety (trisyllable) in Ham. i. 3. 21 ; business (trisyllable, as 
originally pronounced) va J. C. iv. i. 22 : "To groan and sweat 
under the business" (so in several other passages); and other 
words mentioned in the notes to the plays in which they occur. 

6. Words are also contracted for metrical reasons, like plurals 
and possessives ending in a sibilant, as, balance, horse (for horses 
and horse's'), princess, sense, marriage (plural and possessive), 
image, etc. So with many adjectives in the superlative (Vikefair'st 
in i. 3. 265, dear'st in i. 3. 337, stern' st, kindest, secret' st, etc.), and 
certain other words. 

7. The accent of words is also varied in many instances for met- 



1 82 Notes 

rical reasons. Thus we find both revenue and revenue (see on ii. 
2. 206) in the first scene of the M. N. D. (lines 6 and 158), cdnfine 
(noun) and confine, mdture and mature, pursue and pursue, 
distinct (see on iv. 4. 45) and distinct, etc. 

These instances of variable accent must not be confounded with 
those in which words were uniformly accented differently in the 
time of Shakespeare ; like aspect (see on i. 3. 92), advertised (ii. 2. 
211), humane (iv. i. 20), sinister (iv. 5. 28), candnize (ii. 3. 202), 
sepulchre (verb), persever (never persevere^, perseveratice (iii. 3. 
150), rheumatic, etc. 

8. Alexandrines, or verses of twelve syllables, with six accents, 
occur here and there in the plays. They must not be confounded 
with female lines with two extra syllables (see on i above) or with 
other lines in which two extra unaccented syllables may occur. 

9. Incomplete verses, of one or more syllables, are scattered 
through the plays. See i. I. 65, i. 3. 37, 77, 126, 141, 148, etc. 

10. Doggerel measure is used in the earliest comedies (Z. Z. L. 
and C. of E. in particular) in the mouths of comic characters, 
but nowhere else in those plays, and never anywhere in plays 
written after 1598. 

11. Rhyme OQ.c\y.x% frequently in the early plays, but diminishes 
with comparative regularity from that period until the latest. 
Thus, in L. L. L. there are about iioo rhyming verses (about 
one-third of the whole number), in M. N. D. about 900, in Rich, 
II. and R. and f. about 500 each, while in Cor. and A. and C. 
there are only about 40 each, in Temp, only two, and in W. T. 
none at all, except in the chorus introducing act iv. Songs, inter- 
ludes, and other matter not in ten-syllable measure are not included 
in this enumeration. In the present play out of almost 1900 ten- 
syllable verses, only about 180 are in rhyme. 

Alternate rhymes are found only in the plays written before 1599 
or 1600. In M. of V. there are only four lines at the end of iii. 2. 
In Much Ado and A. Y. I., we also find a few lines, but none 
at all in subsequent plays. 



Notes 183 



Rhymed couplets, or " rhyme-tags," are often found at the end of 
scenes ; as in 15 of the 24 scenes of the present play. In Ham. 14 
out of 20 scenes, and in Macb. 21 out of 28, have such " tags ; " but 
in the latest plays they are not so frequent. In Temp., for instance, 
there is but one, and in W. T. none. 

12. In this edition of Shakespeare, the final -ed of past tenses 
and participles in verse is printed -d when the word is to be pro- 
nounced in the ordinary way; as in coticKd, line 41, and drowned, 
line 51, of the first scene. But when the metre requires that the -ed 
be made a separate syllable, the e is retained ; as in wedged, line 37, 
where the word is a dissyllable, and returned, line 114 (a tri- 
syllable). The only variation from this rule is in verbs like cry, die, 
sue, etc., the -ed of which is very rarely, if ever, made a separate 
syllable. 

Shakespeare's Use of Verse and Prose in the Plays. — This 
is a subject to which the critics have given very little attention, 
but it is an interesting study. In this play we find scenes entirely 
in verse (none entirely in prose) and others in which the two are 
mixed. In general, verse is used for what is distinctly poetical, 
and prose for what is not poetical. The distinction, how- 
ever, is not so clearly marktd in the earlier as in the later plays. 
The second scene of M. of V., for instance, is in prose, because 
Portia and Nerissa are talking about the suitors in a familiar and 
playful way ; but in T. G. of V., where Julia and Lucetta are dis- 
cussing the suitors of the former in much the same fashion, the 
scene is in verse. Dowden, commenting on Rich. II., remarks : 
" Had Shakespeare written the play a few years later, we may be 
certain that the gardener and his servants (iii. 4) would not have 
uttered stately speeches in verse, but would have spoken homely 
prose, and that humour would have mingled with the pathos of the 
scene. The same remark may be made with reference to the sub- 
sequent scene (v. 5) in which his groom visits the dethroned king 
in the Tower," Comic characters and those in low life generally 
speak in prose in the later plays, as Dowden intimates, but in the 



1 84 Notes 

very earliest ones doggerel verse is much used instead. See on 10 
above. 

The change from prose to verse is well illustrated in the third 
scene of M. of V. It begins with plain prosaic talk about a busi- 
ness matter ; but when Antonio enters, it rises at once to the higher 
level of poetry. The sight of Antonio reminds Shylock of his 
hatred of the Merchant, and the passion expresses itself in verse, 
the vernacular tongue of poetry. 

The reasons for the choice of prose or verse are not always so 
clear as in this instance. "We are seldom puzzled to explain the 
prose, but not unfrequently we meet with verse where we might 
expect prose. As Professor Corson remarks (^Introduction to Shake- 
speare, 1889), " Shakespeare adopted verse as the general tenor of 
his language, and therefore expressed much in verse that is within 
the capabilities of prose ; in other words, his verse constantly en- 
croaches upon the domain of prose, but his prose can never be said 
to encroach upon the domain of verse." If in rare instances we 
think we find exceptions to this latter statement, and prose actually 
seems to usurp the place of verse, I believe that careful study of 
the passage will prove the supposed exception to be apparent rather 
than real. 

Some Books for Teachers and Students. — A few out of the 
many books that might be commended to the teacher and the 
critical student are the following : Halliwell-Phillipps's Outlines of 
the Life of Shakespeare (7th ed. 1887); Sidney Lee's Life of Shake- 
speare (1898; for ordinary students the abridged ed. of 1899 is 
preferable); 'KoMe.''?, Life of Shakespeare {k^O/^^; Schmidt's ^/za/^<?- 
speare Lexicon (3d ed. 1902) ; Littledale's ed. of Dyce's Glossary 
(1902); Bartlett's Concordance to Shakespeare (1895); Abbott's 
Shakespearian Grammar (1873); Furness's "New Variorum" ed. 
of the plays (encyclopaedic and exhaustive) ; Dowden's Shakspere : 
His Mind and Art (American ed. 1881); Hudson's Life, Art, and 
Characters of Shakespeare (revised ed. 1882); Mrs. Jameson's 
Characteristics of Women (several eds. ; some with the title, 



Notes 185 



Shakespeare Heroines) ; Ten Brink's Five Lectures on Shakespeare 
(1895); Boas's Shakespeare and His Predecessors (1895); Dyer's 
Folk-lore of Shakespeare (American ed. 1884); Gervinus's Shake- 
^eare Co??i7?ienlaries (Bunnett's translation, 1875); Wordsworth's 
Shakespeare's Knowledge of the Bible (3d ed. 1 880); Elson's 
Shakespeare in Music (1901). 

Abbreviations in the Notes. — The abbreviations of the 
names of Shakespeare's plays will be readily understood ; as T. N. 
for Ttvelfth Night, Cor. for Coriolanus, j Hen. VI. for The Third 
Part of King Henry the Sixth, etc. P. P. refers to The Passionate 
Pilgrim; V. and A. to Venus and Adonis; L. C. to Lover'' s 
Complaint ; and Sonn. to the Sonnets. 

Other abbreviations that hardly need explanation are Cf {confer, 
compare), Fol. (following), Id. {idem, the same), and Prol. (pro- 
logue). The numbers of the lines in the references (except for 
the present play) are those of the " Globe " edition (the cheapest 
and best edition of Shakespeare in one compact volume), which is 
now generally accepted as the standard for line-numbers in works 
of reference (Schmidt's Lexicon, Abbott's Grammar, Dowden's 
Primer, the publications of the New Shakespere Society, etc.). 




Cassandra 



PROLOGUE 

The Prologue is not found in the quarto. Ritson and Steevens 
(1793) were the first to suggest that it is not Shakespeare's — an 
opinion in which the modern critics generally concur. White re- 
marks : " Its style is not unlike Chapman's ; and he was just the 
man to be called upon (perhaps by S. himself) to write it. May it 
not be his ? " 

2. Orgulous. Proud, haughty (Yx. orgueilleux^ ; " orgillous " in 
the folios. The word is found in Froissart and other old writers. 

4. Fraught. Laden ; participle of the old verb fraught ( Cyvib. 
i. I. 126), now used only in a figurative sense. Cf. fraughtage in 
13 below. 

6. Crownets. Coronets ; used by S. in A. and C. iv. 2. 27 and 
V. 2. 91. 

8. Immures. Walls, fortifications. The noun occurs nowhere 
else in S. ; but the verb is used seven times. See Z. L. L. iii. i. 26, 
iv. 3. 328, M. of V. ii. 7. 52, etc. 

13. Fraughtage. Freight ; used by S. in C. of E. iv. I. 87. 

15. Brave, Fine, handsome ; as in i. 2. 191 below. 

186 



Scene I] Notes 187 

Six-gated city. Theobald reads " six gates i' th' city." The 
names of the gates are those given by Caxton. 

18. Fulfilling. Theobald prints " full-filling," which is what the 
word means : filling full their sockets. Wiclif has, in Matthew, v. 
6 : " Blessid be thei that hungren and thirsten rigtwisnesse : for 
thei schal be fulfillid ; " and in Luke, xvi. 21 : " to be fulfillid of the 
crummys that fellen down fro the riche mannes boord." Black- 
stone cites the Prayer-Book : " fulfilled with grace and benedic- 
tion." Corresponsive is used by S. only here, and correspondent 
only in Temp. i. 2. 297. 

19. Sperr. An old word =: shut, bar ; the emendation of Theo- 
bald for the " Stirre " of the folio. It is used by Spenser, Warner, 
and others. Knight quotes Chaucer, T. and C. : " For when he 
saw her dores sperred all." 

23. A prologue arnt'd, etc. " I come here to speak the pro- 
logue, and come in armour ; not defying tKe audience, in confi- 
dence of either the author's or actor's abilities, but merely in a 
character suited to the subject — in a dress of war, before a war- 
like play" (Johnson). The speaker of the prologue usually wore 
a black cloak. 

27. Vaunt. Beginning, first part ; from the Fr. avant. Cf. 
vaunt-couriers in Lear, iii. 2. 5. 



ACT I 

Scene I. — Neither the quarto nor the folio text is divided into 
acts and scenes. 

I. Varlet. Servant, footman (the modern 7/«/f/f) ; as in Hen. V. 
iv. 2. 2 : " My horse ! varlet ! laquais ! ha ! " Cf. the original 
use of knave = boy, servant. 

6. Gear. Business, matter. See P. and J. ii. 4. 107, M. of V. 
i. I. no, ii. 2. 176, etc. 

7. To. In addition to. Cf. MaclK in. i. ^2: — 



1 88 Notes [Act I 

" And, to that dauntless temper of his mind, 
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour," etc, 

lo. Fonder. More foolish ; the usual meaning of fond in S. 

14. Meddle no7' make. A proverbial expression. Cf. Much Ado, 
iii. 3. 56 : " the less you meddle or make with them, why, the more 
is your honesty." 

19. Bolting. Sifting ; as in W. T. iv. 4. 375. It is used figura- 
tively in Hen. V. ii. 2. 137 and Cor. iii. i. 322. 

30. Blench at sufferance. Flinch at suffering. Cf. Ham. ii. 
2. 626, etc. See also ii. 2. 68 below. 

33. So, traitor ! etc. The quarto reads : " So traitor then she 
comes when she is thence ; " and the folio : " So (Traitor) then 
she comes, when she is thence," The correction is due to Rowe 
and commends itself. 

39. Storm. The early eds. have " scorne ; " corrected by Rowe. 

53. Indrench^d. Used by S. only here. 

55. Pour''st in the open ulcer, etc. Hudson adopts the conjecture 
of Barry and Lettsom that this line should be put after 63, changing 
Pour''st to " Pour'd." This seems plausible at first thought, but it 
makes a confusion of metaphor in the latter part of the passage ; 
the ideas of an ulcer and a gash made by a knife being mixed. 
Besides this change necessitates others quite as bold, but hardly to 
be justified when the original text gives a consistent meaning. The 
whole passage reads thus in Hudson : — 

" I tell thee, I am mad 
In Cressid's love: thou answer'st, She is fair ; 
Her eyes, her hair, her cheek, her gait, her voice 
Handiest in thy discourse ; — (O that her hand, 
In whose comparison all whites are ink. 
Writing their own reproach ; to whose soft seizure 
And spirit of sense the cygnet's down is harsh 
As the hard hand of ploughman !) — this thou tell'st me, 
And true thou tell'st me, when I say I love her : 
But, saying thus, instead of oil and balm 



Scene I] Notes 189 

Pour'd in the open ulcer of my heart, 

Thou lay'st in every gash that love hath given me 

The knife that made it." 

This may serve as a summary of the changes that have been pro- 
posed by the editors and commentators, for it combines nearly all 
of them. 

57. O, that her hand, etc. Various changes have been made by 
the editors, but none is needed. Malone notes the admiration of 
S. for the beauty of a woman's hand. Cf. R. and J. iii. 3. 35, 
W. T. iv. 4. 373, R. ofL. 393, etc. 

59. To whose soft seizure, etc. White thinks it possible that we 
should read : — 

" to whose soft seizure 
And spirit of sense the cygnet's down is harsh ; " 

but adds : " But I am quite sure that rather than make so violent 
a change we must accept the following construction : * to whose 
soft seizure the cygnet's down and spirit of sense is harsh,' etc." 
Schmidt well defines spirit of sense as " sense or sensibility itself; " 
which seems to be its meaning in iii. 3. 106 below, where it is ap- 
plied to the eye. Seizure (= clasp) seems a strong word here ; as 
in K.John, iii. I. 241, where it refers to hands joined in betrothal. 
The only other instance in S. (if it be his) is in P. /*. 152. 

For to = compared to, cf. Ham. i. 2. 140, i. 5. 52, etc. 

70. She has the mends in her own hands. This seems to have 
been a proverbial expression. Steevens quotes, among other in- 
stances of it, Beaumont and Fletcher, The Wild Goose Chase: 
" The mends are in my own hands, or the surgeon's ; " and Burton, 
Anat. of Melancholy : " if men will be jealous in such cases, the 
mends is in their own hands, they must thank themselves." The 
meaning seems generally to be that one " must make the best of 
it ; " and that is probably the sense here. There can be no reason 
for printing " 'mends," as some editors do. 

80. As fair on Friday as Helen is on Sunday. As fair in her 



190 Notes [Act I 

plainest dress as Helen in her best ; apparently alluding, as Clarke 
remarks, to the Roman Catholic idea of making Friday a day of 
abstinence and Sunday a day of festivity. 

85. To stay behind her father. According to Caxton, as quoted 
by Steevens, Calchas was " a great learned bishop of Troy," who 
was sent by Priam to consult the Oracle at Delphi concerning the 
result of the war threatened by Agamemnon. As soon as he 
had made "his oblations and demands for them of Troy, Apollo 
answered unto him saying : Calchas, Calchas, beware that thou 
returne not back again to Troy ; but goe thou with Achylles, unto 
the Greekes, and depart never from them, for the Greekes shall 
have victorie of the Troyans by the agreement of the Gods." 
Chaucer tells the story in much the same way. 

loi. Tetchy. Touchy; spelt " teachy " in the early eds. Cf. 
Rich. III. iv. 4. 168 and R. and J. i. 3. 32. 

102. Stubborn- chaste. The hyphen was inserted by Theobald and 
is generally adopted. The early eds. have a comma instead. 

103. Daphne. For other allusions to the nymph, see M. N. D. 
ii, I. 231 and T. of S. ind. 2. 59. 

106. Ilium. The poetical name for the city of Troy; but S. 
seems to use it for the palace of Priam, as Caxton does in his De- 
struction of Troy, where the palace is thus described : " In this 
open space of the city, upon a rock, King Priamus did build his 
rich palace named Ilion, that was one of the richest and strongest 
in all the world. It was of height five hundred paces, besides the 
height of the towers, whereof there was great plenty, so high, as it 
seemed to them that saw from far, they reacht Heaven. And in 
this palace King Priamus did make the richest Hall that was at 
that time in all the world : within which was his throne ; and the 
table whereupon he did eat, and held his estate among his nobles, 
princes, lords, and barons, was of gold and silver, precious stones, 
and of ivory." 

III. Sorts. Suits, is fitting; as in 3 Hen. VI. ii. i. 209 : "Why 
then it sorts, brave warriors," etc. 



Scene II] Notes 19 1 

116. A scar. A wound; as often. Cf. C. of E. v. I. 193, 
2 Heji. VI. i. I. 87, etc. 

Scene II. — Knight remarks : "This scene, in which Pandarus 
so characteristically describes the Trojan leaders, is founded upon 
a similar scene in Chaucer, in which the same personage recounts 
the merits of Priam's two valiant sons : — 

' Of Hector needeth nothing for to tell ; 
In all this world there n' is a better knight 
Than he, that is of worthiness the well, 
And he well more of virtue hath than might ; 
This knoweth many a wise and worthy knight : 
And the same praise of Troilus I say : 
God help me, so I know not suche tway. 

' Pardie, quod she, of Hector there is soth, 
And of Troilus the same thing trow I, 
For dredelessi men telleth that he doth 
In armes day by day so worthily, 
And bear 'th him here at home so gently 
To every wight, that alle praise hath he 
Of them that me were levest praised be. 2 

' Ye say right soth, I wis, quod Pandarus, 
For yesterday whoso had with him been 
Mighten have wonder 'd upon Troilus ; 
For never yet so thick a swarm of been 3 
Ne flew, as Greekes from him gonnen fleen, 
And through the field in every wightes ear 
There was no cry but " Troilus is there ! " 

' Now here, now there, he hunted them so fast, 
There n ' as but Greekes blood and Troilus ; 
Now him he hurt, and him all down he cast ; 
A)'-e where he went it was arrayed thus : 
He was their death, and shield and life for us, 
That as that day there durst him none withstand 
While that he held his bloody sword in hand.' " 

* Doubtless. 2 Whose praise I should most desire. 3 Bees. 



192 Notes [Act I 

4. Battle. Changed by Pope to "fight;" but the second syl- 
lable of battle may be an extra one. In either case patience is a 
trisyllable. 

7. Like as. Cf. Sonn. 60. I : " Like as the waves make towards 
the pebbled shore," etc. Husbajidry = thrift, economy. Cf. 
Macb. ii. 4 : — 

" There 's husbandry in heaven ; 
Their candles are all out," etc. 

8. Harness' d light. It has been disputed whether this means 
that he was armed promptly or in light armour. I am inclined to 
accept the former explanation. For the adverbial use of light, cf. 
M. N. D.N. I. 401 : " Hop as light as bird from brier," etc. 

9. Where every flower, ^\.z. For the figure (evidently suggested 
by the dewdrops), cf. M. N. D. iii. i. 204 : " And when she weeps, 
weeps every little flower." 

12. Noise. Rumour, report ; as in A. and C. i. 2. 145 : 
"Cleopatra, catching but the least noise of this, dies instantly," 
We still speak of a thing as being " noised abroad " (Z. L. L. 
ii. I. 22). 

15. Per se. By himself, of himself; pre-eminent. It was 
applied in spelling to every letter which formed a separate syllable, 
and hence came to be used figuratively of objects standing alone in 
distinction or excellence. Chaucer calls Cresseide " the floure and 
a per se of Troie and Grece." Cf. the Mirror for Magistrates: 
" Beholde me, Baldwine, A per se of my age." Nares quotes H. 
Petowe, in Brydges's Restituta : — 

" And singing moume Eliza's funerall, 
The £ per se of all that ere hath beene." 

Dekker has, in the title of one of his pamphlets : " a new crier, 
called O per se O," etc. 

20. Additions. Qualities, characteristics ; literally, titles. Cf. 
ii. 3. 249 below. 



Scene II] Notes 193 

23, Crushed into folly. " Confused and mingled with folly, so 
as that they make one mass together" (Johnson). 

27. Against the hair. Or, as we say, " against the grain." For 
this use of hair, see M. W. ii. 3. 41 : " against the hair of your 
profession." Joints — limbs, as often ; here used for the pun that 
follows. 

29. Briareus. The only allusion to the old hundred-armed 
giant in S. For other references to the many-eyed Argus, see 
L. L. L. iii. I. 201 and M. of V. \. i. 230. 

34. Disdaiji. Ignoring as in R. of L. 521: "hang their heads 
at this disdain." 

75. Condition. Hanmer reads "On condition;" which is of 
course the meaning. Cf. Lord Cromivell, v. 4 : " Would 't were 
otherwise, condition, I spent half the wealth I have." For walk- 
ing barefoot, etc., cf. 0th. iv. 2. 38 : "I know a lady in Venice 
would have walked barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his 
nether lip." 

78. Tifne must friend or ejtd. A proverbial expression. 

87. Wit. The early eds. have " will ; " corrected by Rowe. 

96. Favour. Face ; as often. Cf. iv. 5. 213 below. 

114. Merry Greek. A play upon the expression, which was 
often := reveller, boon companion. Cf. iv. 4. 56 below. 

116. Compassed window. Bow-window, or bay-window, 

119. A tapster'' s arithmetic. Which was limited to his small 
dealings with his customers. Cf. L. L. L. i. 2. 40 : "I am ill at 
reckoning ; it fitteth the spirit of a tapster." 

125. Lifter. A play on the word as applied to a thief. Cf. the 
modern shoplifter. 

133. Valiantly. Singer conjectures "daintily;" but Cressida 
uses the word as bravely was commonly used ( = finely), and ironi- 
cally withal. 

135. An V were a cloud in autumn. That is, like a cloud boding 
bad weather, or more like a frown than a smile. 

143. Ldle. There is an obvious play on addle. 
TROILUS — 13 



194 Notes [Act I 

145. Marvellous. The early eds. have "maruel's" or "mar- 
vel^s ; " corrected by Pope. 

147. Without the rack. Cf. M. of V. iii. 2. 23 : — 

" Bassanio. Let me choose ; 

For as I am I live upon the rack. 

Portia. Upon the rack, Bassanio ! then confess 
What treason there is mingled with your love." 

153. With mill-stones. " To weep mill-stones " was a proverbial 
expression = not to weep at all. Cf. /■^ich. HI. i. 3. 354 : " Your 
eyes drop mill-stones when fools' eyes fall tears ;" and Id. i. 4. 

246: — 

" Bid Gloster think on this, and he will weep. 

I Murderer. Ay, mill-stones ; as he lesson'd us to weep." 

166. Two and fifty. So in all the early eds., both here and 
below. Most of the modern editors follow Theobald in changing 
two to " one ; " but, as White remarks, the error is probably Shake- 
speare's. He was perhaps thinking for the moment of the famil- 
iar use of two and fifty for an indefinite numVjer ; as in T. of S. i. 
2. 81, etc. Knight remarks that " the Margarelon of the romance- 
writers, w^ho makes his appearance in act v., is one of the addi- 
tions to the old classical family ; " but others take the ground that 
he was reckoned among the fifty. 

173. Forked. That is, horned ; the trite joke about the horns 
of the cuckold, as in i. i. 117 above. Cf. 0th. iii. 3. 276. 

176. It passed. That is, passed description. Cf. M. W. i. I. 
310, iv. 2. 127, etc. Cressida plays upon the word in her reply. 

183. Born in April Cf. A. and C. iii. 2. 43 : "The April 's 
in her eyes," etc. 

185. Against May. That is, just before May. 

191. Bravely. Finely, admirably. See on 133 above, and cf. 
brave just below. 

199. Shrewd. " Shrow'd " in the early eds. Cf. Z. L. L. v. 2. 
46 : *' beshrew all shrows," etc. Steevens quotes Lydgate's descrip- 
tion of Antenor : — 



Scene II] Notes 195 

" Copious in words, and one that much time spent 
To jest, whenas he was in companie, 
So driely, that no man could it espie : 

And therewith held his countenance so well, 
That every man received great content 

To hear him speake, and pretty jests to tell, 
When he was pleasant and in merriment : 
For tho' that he most commonly was sad, 
Yet in his speech some jest he always had." 

202. Proper /nan of person. Comely man in person ; a com- 
mon use of proper. Of= as regards ; as often. 

207. llie rich shall have more. That is, you '11 be all the more 
a noddy ; apparently alluding to the Scriptural expression, "To him 
that hath shall be given," combined with the old joke about giving 
the nod, and thus indirectly calling a person a noddy. Cf. T. G. of 
V. i. I. 119: — 

" Proteus. But what said she ? 

Speed. [^First nodding^ Ay. 

Proteus. Nod — ay — why, that's noddy. 

Speed. You mistook, sir: I say she did nod, and you asked me if 
she did nod ; and I say ay. 

Proteus. And that set together is noddy. 

Speed. Now you have taken the pains to set it together, take it for 
your pains." 

221. By God^s lid. That is, by God's eye ; often contracted 
into ^slid! as in M. W. iii. 4. 24 and T. N. iii. 4. 427. 

253. An eye. The quarto reading ; the folios have "money." 

264. Camel. Cf. ii. i. 55 below. 

270. Suchlike. The quarto reading ; " so forth " in the folios, 

273. No date in the pie. Dates were a common ingredient in 
the pastry of the poet's time. Cf. R. and J. iv. 4. 2 : "They call 
for dates and quinces in the pastry." 

276. At what ward. In what posture of defence. Cf. i. Hen. 
IV. ii. 4. 215 : "Thou know'st my old ward ; here I lay," etc. 



196 Notes [Act I 

279. Honesty. Chastity ; as often. Cf. M. IV. i. 3. 55, ii. i. 88, 
ii. 2. 75, etc. 

281. At a thousand watches. Ever on the watch. 

285. Watch you for telling. Watch against your telling, see that 
you don't tell. 

291. There he U7iarins him. Omitted in the folios. 

293. Doubt. Suspect, fear ; as often, 

296. To bring, uncle ? " I '11 be with you to bring " was an 
idiomatic expression = I '11 briifg as good as I get, I'll be even with 
you. Cf. The Spanish Tragedy : — 

"And heere He haue a fling at him, that's flat ; 
And, Balthazar, lie be with thee to bring ; " 

and Hey wood. Fair Maid of the West : " And He go furnish my- 
self with some better accoutriments, and He be with you to bring 
presently." 

307. That she. That woman. Qi. Hen. Kii. I. 83: "the only 
she ; " Cy^nb. i. 6. 40 : " two such shes," etc. 

310. Achievement is com??iand, etc. That is, after we have ob- 
tained what we desire, we play the masters ; before it, the suitors. 
Cf. achieve — win, gain ; z% in T. of S. \. I. 161: "If I achieve 
not this young modest girl," etc. 

311. My hear f s content, &\.c. True love is the foundation of my 
heart's happiness. 

Scene III. — 7. Conflux. Confluence, flowing together; used 
by S. only here. 

9. Tortive. Twisted, distorted. It is the only instance of the 
word in S. ; and the same is true of errant. 

11. Suppose. The noun occurs also in T. of S.v. i. 120 and 
T. A. I. I. 440. 

12. Troy walls. Cf. " Pisa walls " ( T. of S. ii. i. 369), " Corioli 
walls" {Cor. i. 8. 8), etc. 

13. Sith. Since. Cf. v. 2. 120 below. 



Scene III] Notes 197 

14. Record. S. accents the noun on either syllable, according 
to the measure. 

15. Bias. Originally a term in the game of bowls. See on iv. 
5. 8 below. It is here used adverbially = awry. So thwart = 
athwart, or crosswise. 

18. Our works. What we have done ; that is, the little we 
have been able to accomplish. Works has been suspected, and 
" mocks," " wrecks," etc., have been substituted. 

20. Protractive. Like persistive, used by S. nowhere else. This 
play abounds in words used only once by him. 

24. Artist. Scholar. Cf. A. W. ii. 3. 10, where artists = learned 
physicians. 

25. Affined. United by affinity, related. Cf. 0th. i, i. 39, ii. 3. 
218. 

27. Broad. The quarto reading ; " lowd " in the folio. 

30. Unmingled. A quadrisyllable. Cf. p. 181 above. 

32. Apply. " Explain, interpret " (Schmidt) ; or apply to other 
cases, illustrate by other instances. 

2,Z- Reproof. Refutation, confutation. Cf. i Hen. IV. i. 2. 313, 
iii. 2. 23, etc. 

38. Boreas. The only instance of the classical name of the 
north wind in S. 

39. Thetis. The sea-goddess who was the mother of Achilles 
(cf. 212 and iii. 3. 94 below) ; here used poetically for the sea — 
perhaps, as Schmidt suggests, confounded with Tethys^ the wife of 
Oceanus. 

42. Perseus'' horse. Pegasus, the winged horse of Bellerophon, 
is evidently meant. S. follows Caxton ; though, as Steevens re- 
marks, " Pegasus might fairly be called Perseus^ horse, because the 
heroism of Perseus had given him existence " — that is, by killing 
Medusa, from whose blood the beast was said to have sprung. Cf. 
Hen. V. iii. 7. 22: "le cheval volant, the Pegasus." See also 
I Hen. IV. iv. i. 109. 

45. A toast. That is, a dainty bit to be swallowed ; probably 



198 Notes [Act I 

suggested hy the practice of putting a toast in a cup of sack. Cf. 
M. W. iii. 5. 3 : " Go fetch me a quart of sack ; put a toast in 't." 

48. Brize. Gadfly ; as in A. and C. iii. 10. 14 : " The brize 
upon her, like a cow in June." 

51. Fled. That is, have fled. 

54. Rechides. The early eds. have " Retires " or " Retyres." 
Pope has " Returns," Hanmer " Replies," and Dyce " Retorts." 
Rechides is the conjecture of Lettsom. It is favoured by the fol- 
lowing chiding, the repetition being in Shakespeare's manner. 
Here, moreover, it is in keeping with the preceding line, 

56. Spirit. Monosyllabic ; as very often. The quarto spells it 
" spright." 

63. Agamemnon and the hajtd of Greece, etc. " The speech of 
Agamemnon is such that it ought to be engraven in brass, and the 
tablet held up by him on the one side, and Greece on the other, to 
show the union of their opinion" (Johnson). Cf. M. for M. v. 

I. II : — 

" When it deserves with characters of brass 
Aforted residence 'gainst the tooth of time 
And razure of oblivion." 

For other instances of brass = brazen tablet, see W. T. i. 2. 360, 
Hen. V. iv. 3. 97, and Hen. VIII. iv. 2. 45. On the other hand, S. 
nowhere uses the word for a bronze statue. 

65. Hatched in silver. Literally, engraved (Fr. hache) in sil- 
ver ; a figurative way of calling Nestor silver-haired. The fine 
lines cut in the metal by the engraver suggested the comparison. 
Steevens cites love in a Maze, 1632 : — 

" Thy hair is fine as gold, thy chin is hatch'd 
With silver." 

Johnson and Schmidt take the expression to refer to the speech of 
Nestor, as high in brass does to that of Agamemnon ; and some- 
thing can be said for that interpretation. 

66. Should with a bond of air, etc. That is, should enforce the 



Scene III] Notes 1 99 

attention of all the Greeks. Mr. Verity remarks that the whole 
passage is evidently a reminiscence of a stanza in Lucrece^ 1401- 
1407 : — 

" There pleading might you see grave Nestor stand, 
As t' were encouraging the Greeks to fight, 
Making such sober action with his hand 
That it beguiled attention, charm'd the sight. . 

In speech, it seem'd, his beard, all silver white, 
Wagg'd up and down, and from his lips did fly 
Thin winding breath, which purl'd up to the sky." 

67. Greekish. The folios have " Greekes " or " Greeks." See 
on iii. 3. 211 below, 

70. Expect. Expectation ; the only instance of the noun in S. 
Suspect ( = suspicion) occurs eight or ten times. 

73. Mastic. The reading of all the early eds., changed by Rowe 
to " mastiff," to which, according to some, it is equivalent. White 
remarks : " Mastix, said to be the feminine of mastigia, was used 
to mean a whip or scourge, especially of a moral kind. See the 
following passage from the Arcadia, in which the term is applied 
to one of Thersites' kidney : ' and therefore sometimes looking 
upon an old acquaintance of his called Mastix, one of the repin- 
ingst fellowes in the world, and that beheld nobody but with a 
mind of mislike, (saying still the world was amiss, but how it 
should be amended he knew not,) ' etc. Alastic was probably 
used here to avoid the cacophony of ' \i\s masti.*- jawj' ; ' or possibly 
' masticke ' is a misprint of ' masticks ; ' but it has generally been 
regarded as an error for 'mastiff' — an epithet the appropriateness 
of which to the jaws of Thersites I cannot see, as he was one of 
those barking dogs that never bite." The meaning of the passage 
is : " there is less expectation of hearing needless and purposeless 
matter from you than confidence of hearing Thersites speak 
sweetly, wittily, or wisely : . . . one of those sentences in which 
S. gives the effect of antithesis instead of an actual antithesis" 
(Clarke). 



200 Notes [Act I 

77. These instances. Referring to what follows. 

78. The specialty of rule. "The particular rights of supreme 
authority" (Johnson). 

80. Hollow upon this plain, etc. Mason would omit the first 
holloiv, Steevens the second one. As it stands the line is an Alex- 
andrine. 

81. When that the general, etc. "When the general is not to 
the army like the hive to the bees, the repository of the stock of 
every individual, that to which each resorts with whatever he has 
collected for the good of the whole, what honey is expected? what 
hope of advantage ? " (Johnson). 

^iT). Degree = rank. Vizarded = covered with a vizard, or 
vizor; masked. 

85. This centre. The earth, the centre of the Ptolemaic uni- 
verse. Cf. IV. T. ii. I. 102: — 

" The centre is not big enough to bear 
A school-boy's top." 

Verplanck remarks here : " It is possible that the poet had this 
thought suggested by an analogous passage, of equal eloquence, in 
his contemporary Hooker's ' Ecclesiastical Polity,' of which the first 
parts were published in 1594. If it were not, it was no very strange 
coincidence between the thoughts of men of large and excursive 
minds, at once poetical and philosophical, applied to the most 
widely differing subjects. There is a noble passage in the first 
book of Hooker, singularly like this in thought, and in sustained, 
lofty, moral eloquence. In his magnificent generalization of Law, 
as at once the rule of moral action and government, and the rule 
of natural agents, he says : — 'If nature should intermit her course, 
and leave altogether, though it were but for a while, the observa- 
tion of her own laws ; if those principal and mother elements, 
whereof all things in this lower world are made, should lose the 
qualities which now they have ; if the frame of that heavenly arch, 
now united above our heads, should loosen and dissolve itself; if 



Scene III] Notes 20 1 

celestial spheres should forget their wonted motions, and, by irregu- 
lar volubility, turn themselves any way as it might happen ; if the 
prince of the lights of heaven, which now, as a giant, doth run his 
unwearied course, should, through a languishing faintness, begin to 
stand and to rest himself; if the moon should wander from her 
beaten way, the times and seasons of the year blend themselves by 
disordered and confused mixture, the winds breathe out their last 
gasp, the clouds yield no rain, the earth be defeated of heavenly 
influence, the fruits of the earth pine away, as children at the 
withered breast of their mother, — what would become of man 
himself ? See we not that obedience of creatures unto the law of 
nature is the stay of the whole world ? ' 

" Hooker's subsequent remarks on ' the law of the common 
weal' singularly remind the reader of the more rapid view given 
by the poet of ' the unity and married calm of states,' and the ills 
by which it is disturbed." 

87. Insisture. " Persistency, constancy " (Schmidt) ; a word 
found nowhere else. 

89. Planet Sol. According to the Ptolemaic astronomy, the sun 
was one of the planets revolving around the centre. 

90. Sphered. That is, set in its crystalline sphere, as each planet 
was supposed to be. 

91. Medicinable. Medicinal. The early eds. have "med'cin- 
able," which indicates the pronunciation, as elsewhere in S. Cf. iii. 
3. 44 below, and 0th. v. 2.351, etc. Othet' refers to the other planets. 

92. Aspects. An astrological term for the peculiar position and 
influence of a heavenly body. Cf. R. of L. 14, Sonn. 26. 10, W. T. 
ii. I. 107, Lear, ii. 2. 1 1 2, etc. S. always accents the word on the 
second syllable. 

94. Sans. Without ; a word quite Anglicized in the time of S., 
being used in French and Italian dictionaries to explain sans and 
senza. 

95. Evil mixture. Referring to the supposed malignant con- 
junctions of the planets. 



202 Notes [Act I 

99. Deracinate. Root out, tear up by the roots. The verb is 
used again in Heti. V. v. 2. 47. 

loi. Fixure! Stability. Tiie 3d and 4th folios have "fixture." 
Fixure occurs again in W. T. v. 3. 67. For shak'd (cf. Hen, V. 
ii. I. 124, Cymb. i. 5. 76, etc.) Rowe substitutes "shaken," which 
S. uses less frequently. 

104. Brotherhoods. " Corporations, companies, confraternities " 
(Johnson). 

105. Dividable. Divided ; used by S. only here. We find 
dividant in the same sense in T. of A. iv. 3. 5. Individable occurs 
in Ham. ii. 2. 418. Coimnerce is accented on the second syllable, 
as in iii. 3. 205 below. 

106. Primogenity. The quarto has " primogenitie " and the folio 
" primogenitiue." Rowe reads "primogeniture," which is what the 
word means. Some modern eds. read " primogenitive." 

111. Mere. Absolute ; as in 287 below. Cf. 0th. ii. 2. 3: "the 
mere perdition of the Turkish fleet," etc. Oppugnancy (= antag- 
onism) is used by S. only here. 

112. Shotdd. Would ; as in the following lines. 

117. Jar. Conflict, contention; as in V. and A. ICX), etc. 
119. Includes itself in. Ends in, finally comes to. Cf. T. G. of 
V. V. 4. 160. 
125. Suffocate. For the form, cf. infect '\r\ 187 below. 

127. Neglection. Neglect, disregard ; found also in i ^^;/. VI. 'w. 
3. 49 and Per. iii. 3. 20 (in the quartos ; "neglect " in the folios). 

128. By a pace. " Step by step " (Johnson). The meaning is : 
" By neglecting to observe due degree of priority, men lose ground 
while striving to advance ; since each person who pushes on re- 
gardless of his superiors will be pushed back in turn by them " 
(Clarke). 

132. Pace. Referring, like the preceding step, to the officer oc- 
cupying the grade. Sick = envious. 

134. Pale and bloodless. " Not vigorous and active" (Johnson). 
Emulation is metrically five syllables. 



Scene III] Notes 203 

138. Discover'' d. Disclosed, unfolded ; as often, 

139. Power. Army ; as often used in both numbers. 

148. Scurril. Used by S. only here, as scuriliotis only in 
W. T. iv. 4. 215. 

151. Pageants. Mimics; as in 2i pageant, or theatrical repre- 
sentation. For the noun, cf. iii. 2. 77 and iii. 3. 273 below. Some- 
iivie is used by S. interchangeably with sometijfies. 

152. Thy topless deputation. The supreme power deputed to 
thee (by the other Greek chiefs). " Topless is that which has noth- 
ing topping or overtopping it " (Johnson). 

153. Like a strutting player, etc. Cf. Macb. v. 5. 24: — 

• " Life 's but a walking shadow, a poor player 
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage 
And then is heard no more." 

155. The wooden dialogue. "The epithet tvooden has admirable 
significance here ; not only conveying to the ear the resounding 
tread of the strutting player on the boards, but bringing to our eye 
his puppet hardness and stiffness as well as the awkward stupidity 
of his look and action " (Clarke). 

156. Stretched. Strained, affected. Scaffoldage = the floor of 
the stage ; used by S. only here. Cf. the similar use of scaffold in 
Hen. V. prol. 10 : " On this unworthy scaffold." 

157. O^er-wrested. Overstrained, exaggerated. The early eds. 
have " ore-rested "or" o're-rested ; " corrected by Pope. 

159. Like a chime a-mending. Cf. Hajn. iii. i. 166: "Like 
sweet bells jangled out of tune and harsh." Unsquarhl = unsuit- 
able, not shaped and adapted to the purpose. Cf. square in v. 2. 
132 below. 

160. Typhon. Typhoeus, a mythical giant, who attempted to 
dethrone Jupiter, but was defeated and imprisoned under Etna. 

161. Hyperboles. White thinks that the word is pronounced 
hy-per-boles, but I cannot agree with him. Fusty = musty, mouldy ; 
as in ii. i. 100 below. 

166. Dressed. Some editors print " 'dress'd," as if contracted 



204 Notes [Act I 

from " address'd ; " but the original meaning of dress is to put in 
order, prepare. Cf. Hen. V. iv. i. lo, M.for M. i. i. 20, etc. Ora- 
tion is a quadrisyllable. 

168. Parallels. Johnson thinks that " parallels on a map " are 
meant ; but the reference is probably to the opposite extremities 
of parallel lines, which can be prolonged indefinitely without meet- 
ing. His wife = Venus. 

174. Gorget. The part of the armour that defended the throat. 
The hyphen in palsy-ftimbling (perhaps not necessary) was inserted 
by Steevens, and is generally adopted. 

178. Spleen. Often used for a sudden impulse or fit beyond the 
control of reason; as here of laughter. Cf. L. L. L. iii. i. 77, v. 2. 
117, T. of S. ind. i. 137, etc. 

180. Sever ah and generals of grace exact. Our individual and 
general qualities of "excellence irreprehensible " (Johnson). 
Schmidt makes it = "the minutest peculiar and general excellen- 
cies." Hudson thinks that of grace exact is probably = " exact or 
perfect in respect of grace." Various changes have been made by 
the editors. 

181. Preventions. A quadrisyllable. Cf. execution in 210 below. 
184. Paradoxes. Absurdities. 

187. Infect. For the form see on 125 above. 

189. In such a rein. "That is, holds up his head as haughtily" 
(Johnson). Y ox. place Pope reads "pace ; " but no change is really 
called for, and, as Clarke remarks, " to bear his head in a forced 
pace would be a forced expression." 

190. Broad. Apparently = puffed up with pride. 

191. State. Council of w^ar. The word is often used for "per- 
sons representing a body politic" (Schmidt). Cf. ii. 3. 262 and 
iv. 2. 71 below. 

193. Like a mint. As fast as a mint coins money. 

195. Exposure. That is, exposure of ourselves in the field. 

196. How rank soever, etc. "In howsoever high a degree en- 
compassed by danger" (Clarke). 



Scene III] Notes 205 

199. Prescience. Here accented on the second syllable, but on 
the first in the other two instances in which S. uses it in verse. Cf. 
Temp. I. 2. 180 and R. of L. 727. 

205. Mappery. Study of maps ; used by S. only here. 

210. His execution. Its (the ram's) working, or operation. 
For his = its, cf. 354 below. 

211. Achilles' horse, etc. That is, "at this rate Achilles' horse 
is as good as Achilles himself" — he being the son of Thetis. 

228. Bid. The folio has " on." 

235. Debonair. The Fr. de bott azr (= gentle, affable); used 
by S. only here. 

238. And, Jove's accord. And with Jove's accord, Jove grant- 
ing or favouring. The passage may be corrupt. Malone conjec- 
tures that we should read " And with Jove's accord Nothing 's," etc. 
Schmidt would point it " And Jove's accord, Nothing," etc. He 
takes the meaning to be "and Jove's assent that nothing is so full 
of heart." White makes it = " and Jove's spontaneous geniality 
is not so hearty — as they are, whether as friends or foes." The 
quarto inserts " great " before foveas. 

241. Distains. The Variorum of 1 82 1 prints "disdains" in 
text and notes ; not recorded in the Cambridge ed. The meaning 
evidently is that even deserved praise stains or sullies a person if 
he himself speaks it or induces others to speak it for him. 

243. Repining. Mortified by defeat. 

244. Thai praise, sole pure, transcends. Such praise, the only 
pure or disinterested praise, transcends all other. 

253. Speak frankly as the wind. Cf. 0th. v. 2. 220 : " I will 
speak as liberal as the north." 

256. Trumpet. Trumpeter ; as in iv. 5. 6 below. 

262. Long-continued truce. As Johnson notes, this is inconsist- 
ent with i. 2. 33 above ; but S. is often guilty of these little incon- 
sistencies. He takes the idea of the truce from Caxton. 

269. Confession. The meaning is, " confession made with idle 
vows to the lips of her whom he loves " (Johnson). 



2o6 Notes [Act I 

282. Sunburnt. That is, not fair. Cf. Much Ado, ii. i. 331 : 
"and I am sunburnt," 

283. The splinter of a lance. "The wording of this challenge 
is in the true chivalric tone ; and it affords one of the instances of 
the skill with which the dramatist has blended the rich hues of the 
romance-writers with the Doric simplicity of outline in the classic 
poets" (Clarke). 

Knight remarks : " Steevens says the challenge thus sent ' would 
better have suited Palmerin or Amadis than Hector or .Eneas.' 
Precisely so. And this was not only the language of romance, but 
of real life, almost up to the days of Shakspere. In a challenge 
of the reign of Mary, four Spanish and English knights will main- 
tain a fight on foot at the barriers against all comers, that ' they 
may show their great desires to serve their ladies by the honourable 
adventure of their person.' But would Steevens assert that Shak- 
spere did not purposely make the distinction between the Homeric 
and the feudal ages ? He found the challenge of Hector in 
Homer ; he invested it with its Gothic attributes in accordance 
with a principle. The commentators sneer at Shakspere's violation 
of chronology in the mention of Aristotle : what do they say to 
Chaucer's line in the Troilus and Creseide — ' He sung, she play'd, 
he told a tale of Wade ' ? Wade was a hero of the same fabulous 
school as Bevis and Launcelot. The challenge of Hector is thus 
rendered by Chapman : — 

' Hear, Trojans, and ye well-arm'd Greeks, what my strong mind, 
diffus'd 
Through all my spirits, commands me speak ; Saturnius hath not us'd 
His promis'd favour for our truce, but, studying both our ills. 
Will never cease till Mars, by you, his ravenous stomach fills 
With ruin'd Troy ; or we consume your mighty sea-born fleet. 
Since then the general peers of Greece in reach of one voice meet. 
Amongst you all whose breast includes the most impulsive mind 
Let him stand forth as combatant, by all the rest design'd ; 
Before whom thus I call high Jove to witness of our strife, 



Scene III] Notes 207 

If he with home-thrust iron can reach th' exposure of my life, 
Spoihng my arms, let him at will convey them to his tent; 
But let my body be return'd, that Troy's two-sex'd descent 
May waste it in the funeral-pile : if I can slaughter him, 
Apollo honouring me so much, I '11 spoil his conquer'd limb, 
And bear his arms to Ilion, where in Apollo's shrine 
I '11 hang them as my trophies due : his body I '11 resign 
To be disposed by his friends in flamy funerals, 
And honour'd with erected tomb where Hellespontus falls 
Into Egasum, and doth reach even to your naval road; 
That, when our beings in the earth shall hide their period. 
Survivors sailing the Black Sea may thus his name renew. 
This is his monument whose blood long since did fates embrue, 
Whom passing fair in fortitude illustrate Hector slew. 
This shall posterity report, and my fame never die.' " 

288. That means not, etc. A good example of the freedom of 
ellipsis in the Elizabethan time. 

293. Host. The folio has " mould." 

296. Beaver. Helmet ; properly, the movablp front of the hel- 
met. Cf. Bain. i. 2. 230 : "he wore his beaver up." 

297. Vantbrace. Armour for the arm (Fr. avant bras) ; used by 
S. only here. Steevens cites examples of it from Milton (6'. A. 
1 121) and Heywood {Iron Age). 

300. In flood. That is, "taken at the flood" (/. C. iv. 3. 219) 
or its full flow. The metaphor is evidently drawn from the flow- 
ing of the tide. 

301. Prove this truth. The folio has " pawne " for prove, and the 
quarto " troth " for truth. 

313. Be you my time. Play the part of Time in bringing it to 
maturity. 

319. Nursery. The metaphor is from a place where plants are 
raised. Cf. T.of S.'\. i. 2 : "Padua, nursery of arts," etc. 

324. As substance, etc. As wealth, whose value, though great, 
may be summed up in a few little figures. Steevens aptly quotes 
Hen. V. prol. 15 : — 



2o8 Notes [Act I 

" since a crooked figure may 
Attest in little place a million." 

See also W. T. i. 2. 6 : " like a cipher, Yet standing in rich place." 
Schmidt explains the passage thus : " as the material world, which 
seems immense, but is calculated and defined by means of little 
figures ; " but S. often uses substance for property or wealth, and 
that sense seems more natural here. 

326. And, in the publication, etc. "Nestor goes on to say, make 
no difficulty, no doubt, when this duel comes to be proclaimed, but 
that Achilles, dull as he is, will discover the drift of it. So [in iii. 
3. 112 below] Ulysses says, ' I do not strain at the position ; ' that is, 
I do not hesitate at, I make no difficulty of it" (Theobald). 

328. Banks of Libya. That is, the African desert. 

332. Wake him. Rouse himself. 

336. Much opinion dzvells. Much reputation is involved. Cf. 
373 below. 

337. Dearest. Most precious. 

339. Our imputation shall be oddly pois'd. " Our imputed excel- 
lence shall be unequally weighed" (Clarke). Cf. 2 Hen. IV. v. I. 
81 : "I would humour his men with the imputation of being near 
their master," etc. 

340. Success. Issue, result. Cf. ii. 2. 117 below. 

341. Scantling. Small portion ; used by S. only here. Malone 
quotes Florio's Montaigne : " When the lion's skin will not suffice, 
we must add a scantling of the fox's." 

343. Small pricks. "Small points compared with the volumes" 
(Johnson). Index in S. always means a preface, prologue, or table 
of contents. Cf. Ham. iii. 4. 51, 0th. ii. I. 263, etc. 

344. Subsequent. Accented on the second syllable ; the only 
instance of the word in S. 

349. Election. Choice, the thing chosen. 

351. Who miscarrying. If he is defeated, what encouragement 
will the victorious side draw thence, to strengthen their good opin- 
ion of themselves ? For part = party, side, cf. iv. 5. 156 below : 



Scene III] Notes 209 

" our Trojan part," etc. Hudson strangely takes heart to be the 
subject and part the object, explaining the passage thus : " If the 
man of our choice should fail, what heart among us will then draw 
from the issue any hope of success, or of conquering, to strengthen 
his confidence in our ability ? " 

354. His. Its ; referring to opinion. 

356. Directive. Capable of being directed ; used by S. only 
here. 

357-365. Give . . . followers. The quarto reads here : — 

" Glue pardon to my speech ? therefore tis meete, 
Achilles meete not Hector, let vs like Marchants 
First shew foule wares, and thinke perchance theile sell; 
If not ; the luster of the better shall exceed, 
By shewing the worst first ; do not consent 
That euer Hector and Achilles meet, 

For both our honour and our shame in this, are dog'd with 
two strange followers," 

361. To show. To be shown. 
368. Share. The folios have "weare." 
371. Salt. Bitter, pungent. 

373. Our main opinion. Our general reputation. See on 336 
above. Crush = destroy. 

375. Blockish. Clumsy, stupid ; used by S. only here ; as block- 
head only in Cor. ii. 3. 31. Block he has several times in a similar 
sense ; as in T. G. of V. ii. 5. 27, W. T. i. 2. 225, /. C.i.i. 40, etc. 

376. Sort. Lot (Fr. sort) ; the only instance of this meaning 
inS. 

377. Allowance. Acknowledgment, approval; as in ii. 3. 138 
below. The folio reads '' as the worthier man." 

378. The great Myrmidon. Achilles is so called as being the 
chief of the Myrmidons. Cf. v. 5. 33, v. 7. I, etc., below. 

379. Broils in loud applause. " Basks in the sunshine of ap- 
plause, even to broiling " (Schmidt) ; or, perhaps, as Clarke puts 
it, "swells and sweats in the fire of applause, as broiling meat 

TROILUS — 14 



2IO Notes [Act I 

swells, spits, and exudes above the red coals." The transitive use 
oi fall (= let fall) is common in S. Cf. _/. C. iv. 2. 26, etc. 

382. Voices. That is, applauding voices. 

392. Tarre the mastiffs on. That is, set them on, urge them on. 
Cf. K.John, iv. i, 117 and Ham. ii. 2, 370. 




Achilles 



ACT II 



Scene I. — Knight remarks : "Thersites has been termed by 
Coleridge ' the Caliban of demagogic life ; ' and he goes on to de- 
scribe him as ' the admirable portrait of intellectual power deserted 
by all grace, all moral principle, all not momentary impulse ; just 
wise enough to detect the weak head, and fool enough to provoke 
the armed fist, of his betters.' This is the Thersites of Shakspere ; 
he of Homer is merely a deformed jester. The wonderful finished 
portrait is made out of the slightest of sketches : — 

' All sat, and audience gave ; 
Thersites only would speak all. A most disorder'd store 
Of words he foolishly pour'd out ; of which his mind held more 
Than it could manage ; any thing with which he could procure 
Laughter, he never could contain. He should have yet been sure 
To touch no kings. T' oppose their states becomes not jesters' parts, 
But he the filthiest fellow was of all that had deserts 
In Troy's brave siege : he was squint-eyed, and lame of either foot : 
So crook-back'd that he had no breast : sharp-headed, where did shoot 

211 



212 Notes [Act II 

(Here and there sperst) thin mossy hair. He most of all envied 

Ulysses and ^acides, whom still his spleen would chide ; 

Nor could the sacred king himself avoid his saucy vein, 

Against whom, since he knew the Greeks did vehement hates sustain, 

(Being angry for Achilles' wrong,) he cried out, railing thus : — 

" Atrides, why complain'st thou now ? what wouldst thou more of us ? 
Thy tents are full of brass, and dames ; the choice of all are thine : 
With whom we must present thee first, when any towns resign 
To our invasion. Want'st thou then (besides all this) more gold 
From Troy's knights to redeem their sons ? whom, to be dearly sold, 
I, or some other Greek, must take ? or wouldst thou yet again 
Force from some other lord his prize, to soothe the lusts that reign 
In thy encroaching appetite ? It fits no prince to be 
A prince of ill, and govern us ; or lead our progeny 
By rape to ruin. O base Greeks, deserving infamy, 
And ills eternal ! Greekish girls, not Greeks, ye are : Come, fly 
Home with our ships ; leave this man here, to perish with his preys, 
And try if we help'd him, or not : he wrong'd a man that weighs 
Far more than he himself in worth : he forc'd from Thetis' son. 
And keeps his prize still : nor think I that mighty man hath won 
The style of wrathful worthily ; he 's soft, he 's too remiss, 
Or else, Atrides, his had been thy last of injuries." 

Thus he the people's pastor chid ; but straight stood up to him 
Divine Ulysses, who, with looks exceeding grave and grim. 
This bitter check gave : " Cease, vain fool, to vent thy railing vein 
On kings thus, though it serve thee well ; nor think thou canst restrain 
With that thy railing faculty, their wills in least degree. 
For not a worse, of all this host, came with our king than thee 
To Troy's great siege : then do not take into that mouth of thine 
The names of kings, much less revile the dignities that shine 
In their supreme states ; wresting thus this motion for our home 
To soothe thy cowardice ; since ourselves yet know not what will come 
Of these designments, — if it be our good to stay or go : 
Nor is it that thou stand'st on ; thou revil'st our general so. 
Only because he hath so much, not given by such as thou. 
But by our heroes. Therefore this thy rude vein makes me vow 
(Which shall be curiously observ'd), if ever I shall hear 
This madness from thy mouth again, let not Ulysses bear 



Scene I] Notes 213 

This head, nor be the father call'd of young Telemachus, 

If to thy nakedness I take and strip thee not, and thus 

Whip thee to fleet from council ; send, with sharp stripes, weeping hence, 

This glory thou affect'st to rail." This said, his insolence 

He settled with his sceptre, strook his back and shoulders so 

That bloody wales rose : he shrunk round, and from his eyes did flow 

Moist tears ; and, looking filthily, he sat, fear'd, smarted ; dried 

His blubber'd cheeks ; and all the press (though griev'd to be denied 

Their wish'd retreat for home) yet laugh 'd delightsoraely, and spake 

Either to other' [Chapman's Homer, bk. ii.]." 

White says of Thersites {Galaxy, Feb., 1877): " Thersites sits 
with Caliban high among Shakespeare's minor triumphs. He was 
brought in to please the mob. He is the Fool of the piece, fulfil- 
ling the functions of Touchstone, and Launce, and Launcelot, and 
Costard. As the grave-diggers were brought into Hatnlet for the 
sake of the groundlings, so Thersites came into Troilus and Cres- 
sida. As if that he might leave no form of human utterance un- 
gilded by his genius, Shakespeare in Thersites has given us the 
apotheosis of blackguardism and billingsgate. Thersites is only a 
railing rascal. Some low creatures are mere bellies with no brain. 
Thersites is merely mouth, but this mouth has just enough coarse 
brain above it to know a wise man and a fool when he sees them. 
But the railings of this deformed slave are splendid. Thersites is 
almost as good as Falstaff . He is of course a far lower organization 
intellectually, and somewhat lower, perhaps, morally. He is coarser 
in every way ; his humour, such as he has, is of the grossest kind ; 
but still his blackguardism is the ideal of vituperation. He is far 
better than Apemantus in Timon of Athens, for there is no hypoc- 
risy in him, no egoism, and, comfortable trait in such a personage, 
no pretence of gentility. For good downright ' sass ' in its most 
splendid and aggressive form, there is in literature nothing equal to 
the speeches of Thersites." 

2, Boils. All the early eds. have " biles," indicating the common 
pronunciation in the time of S. 



114 Notes [Act II 

6. Core. Ulcer; as in v. i. 4 below. In both passages there 
may be a quibble on the sense of heart, 

8. Matter. The play upon the word is obvious. Cf. L. L. L. iii. 
I. 120. For matter ■= good sense, cf. A. Y. L. ii, i. 68 : "he's full 
of matter," etc. 

12. The plague of Greece. " Alluding perhaps to the plague 
sent by Apollo on the Grecian army " (Johnson). 

13. Beef-witted. Steevens quotes T. N. i. 3. 90 : "I am a great 
eater of beef, and I believe that does harm to my wit." " He calls 
Ajax mongrel on account of his father's being a Grecian and his 
mother a Trojan " (Malone). 

14. Vinewed^st. Mouldiest, mustiest ; found nowhere else in S. 
The folios have " whinid'st," and the quarto " vnsalted." As Malone 
remarks, the folio reading is " a corruption undoubtedly of vinnezudst 
or vinniedst.^'' He adds that in Dorsetshire vinny is = mouldy. 

\(). A red murrain. Cf. Temp, i, 2. 364: "The red plague 
rid you!" and Cor. iv. i. 13: "the red pestilence," etc. 

21. Learn me. Tell me. For learn = teach, cf. Temp. i. 2. 
365, Much Ado, iv. i. 31, etc. 

26. Porpentine. Porcupine ; the only name of the animal in S. 

29. Scab. He plays upon the word, which was often used as a 
term of contempt. For similar quibbles, see Much Ado, iii. 3. 107, 
2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 296, and Cor. i. i. 169. The next sentence is 
omitted in the folio. 

37. Mistress. Used in contempt, comparing him to an old 
woman or a termagant. 

39. Cobloaf " A crusty, uneven loaf" (Steevens); a hit at the 
misshapen Thersites. 

40. Pu7z. Pound ; used by S. only here. Steevens quotes ex- 
amples of it from Holland's Pliny. Cole, in his Latin Diet., defines 
it by " contero, contundo." 

44. Thou stool for a witch I Alluding to one of the forms of 
torture for a witch. See Brand's Poptdar Antiquities (Bohn's ed.), 
iii. 23. 



Scene I J Notes 215 

45. Sodden-witted. Stupid. Sodden is the old participle of 
seethe. For the figure, cf. Temp. v. i. 60 and W. T. iii. 3. 64. 

47. Assinego. The early eds. have " asinico," which some take 
to be a corruption of the Spanish asnico, a little ass. Pope has 
been followed by most of the modern editors in reading assinego, 
which is used by Beaumont and Fletcher and other writers of the 
time. Asinego is the Portuguese equivalent of asnico, and seems 
to have become in a measure Anglicized. Ben Jonson, in his 
Epigrams, plays upon it for the sake of a fling at Inigo Jones : 
" You 'd be an ass-inigo by your years." 

49. Bought and sold. Made a fool of. Cf. K. John, v. 4. 10, 
Rich. III.v. 3. 305, etc. 

50. Use to beat me. " Continue to beat me, make a practice of 
beating me " (Steevens). 

56. Mars his idiot. Mars's idiot. Cf. iv. 5. 177, 255 below. 
72. Alodicum. Used by S. only here. 

74. Bobbed. Beaten, drubbed. Cf. Rich. III. v. 3. 334 : " beaten, 
bobb'd, and thump'd." 

75. Pia mater. The membrane covering the brain put for the 
brain itself; as in T. N. i. 5. 123 and L. L. L. iv. 2. 71. 

78. Gilts. The word was not so offensive in the time of S. as 
now ; but if it had been, he would not have hesitated to make 
Thersites use it. 

91. Set your ivit to. Oppose it to. Cf. M. N. D. iii. i. 137: 
" who would set his wit to so foolish a bird ? " 

10 1. Sufferance. Suffering, See on i. i. 30 above. 

102. Voluntary. Adverbial; a.?, \n K. John, y. I. 29, etc. 

116. To, Achilles ! That is, on ! forward ! To ! was thus used 
in urging on draught-oxen. 

123. Brach. Hound, dog (properly feminine). Cf. I Hen. IV. 
iii. I. 240: "Lady, my brach;" and Lear, i. 4. 125: " the lady 
brach." The early eds. have " brooch," which the Cambridge ed. 
retains, and which Schmidt thinks (as Johnson did) to be perhaps 
= appendage, or hanger-on. But, as Clarke notes, S. elsewhere 



2i6 Notes [Act II 

uses brooch only in the sense of something choice or costly ; and 
Rowe's emendation of brack is on the whole to be preferred. 

125. Clotpolls. Blockheads. Cf. Z(?«r, i. 4. 5 1 : " Call the clot - 
poll back." For the literal sense (= head), cf. Cymb. iv. 2. 184: 
" Cloten's clotpoll." 

134. Stomach. Cf. Hen. V. iv. 3. 35 : "he which hath no stom- 
ach to this fight," etc. 

Scene II. — 9. Toucheth 7ny particular. That is, concerns me 
personally. 

1 1 . More softer. Cf. v. 6. 20 below. 

15. Secure. Careless, over-confident (Jj^\Sxi secu7'us) . Cf. Ham. 
i. 5. 61 : " my secure hour," etc. So surety = false confidence. 

16. Tent. Probe. Cf. the play upon the word in v. i. 11 below. 
19. Dismes. Tenths ; not necessarily = " tens," as some make 

it, neither is every tithe soul — " every ten souls." The meaning is 
that not only is every tenth soul taken, but there are many thousand 
of these souls. For tithe, cf. A. W. i. 3. 89 : " One good woman in 
ten, madam ; ... we 'd find no fault with the tithe-woman, if I 
were the parson." 

29. Past-proportion. Immensity. The meaning is : " that great- 
ness to which no measure bears any proportion" (Johnson). 

33. Reasons. Malone suspected a quibble on reasons and 
raisins; as in Much Ado, v. I. 211. 

46. DisorUd. That is, thrown out of the crystalline sphere which 
gives it regular motion. See on i. 3. 90 above. This line and the 
preceding are transposed in the folios. 

48. Fat. Feed, nourish ; as in T. A. iii. i. 204: " fat me with 
the very thoughts of it." 

49. Respect. Deliberation, consideration of consequences. Cf. 
R. of L. 274: — 

" Then, childish fear avaunt ! debating die ! 
Respect and reason wait on wrinkled eld! " 



Scene II] Notes 217 

50. Make. The folios have " Makes," which the grammar of 
the time allowed ; but the quarto reading is to be preferred. For 
the association of cowardice with a white or bloodless liver, cf. 
M. of V. iii. 2. 86, T. N. iii. 2. 66, 2 Hen. IV. iv. 3. 113, etc. 
Lustikood = spirit, vigour ; as in Muck Ado, v. I. 76. For deject, 
see on i. 3. 125 above and on 121 below. 

52. What is alight, etc. Cf. Hudibras : — 

" For what 's the worth of anything 
But so much money as 't will bring ? " 

54. J/is. Its ; referring to value. 

56. As in the prizer. That is, as in the estimation of the 
prizer. 

58. That is attributive, etc. " That attributes, or gives, the 
qualities which it affects ; that first causes excellence, and then 
admires it " (Johnson). In 60 Warburton would read "affected 's 
merit ; " but Johnson defends the old text : " The will affects an 
object for some supposed merit, which Hector says is censurable, 
unless the »ierit so affected be really there." For attributive the 
folios have " inclinable," which Pope prefers. 

64. Traded. Practised, expert. Cf. K. John, iv. 3. 109 : " long 
traded in it." 

68. Blench. Shrink. See on i. i. 30 above. And stand firm 
by honour = and yet maintain one's honour. 

71. Unrespective. Unregardful, or unregarded. Sieve here = 
basket ; a sense not unknown in England at this day. The refer- 
ence is to a waste-basket into which the refuse of the table was 
thrown. The quarto has " sine," the 1st folio " same," and the 
later folios " place." 

77. An old aunt. " Priam's sister, Hesione, whom Hercules, 
being enraged at Priam's breach of faith, gave to Telamon, who 
by her had Ajax" (Malone). 

79. Stale. The quarto has " pale. " Dyce quotes Wither, Epi- 
thalamia, 1 620 : — 



2i8 Notes [Act II 

" Faire Iris would haue lookt but stale and dimme 
In her best colours, had she there appear'd." 

See also W. T. iv. i. 13 : — 

"and make stale 
The glistering of this present." 

82. Whose price^ etc. Evidently suggested by Marlowe's Doctor 
Faustus : — 

" Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships 
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium ? " 

Mr. Verity remarks : " It may be worth while to note that Christo- 
pher Marlowe is the only contemporary dramatist to whom Shake- 
speare definitely alludes in terms of admiration ; it is pleasant to 
think that it should be so. Modern criticism abundantly recognizes 
the fact that Marlowe rendered English literature the most signal 
and sovereign services, at once by freeing blank verse from the 
fetters imposed upon it by the authors of the dreary Gorboduc, by 
elevating and to a certain extent fixing the form and style of the 
romantic drama, and by driving off the stage the 'jigging veins of 
rhyming mother wits ' that are satirized in the prologue to Tani- 
burlaine. Shakespeare's debt to Marlowe was great, and passages 
in his plays show that he was familiar with the works of his brother 
poet. Thus in A. Y. L. we have (iii. 5. 82) the direct apostrophe to 
the ' Dead shepherd,' followed by the quotation of the line from 
Hero and Leander which soon became a proverb : ' Who ever 
lov'd that lov'd not at first sight ?' Again, in M. W. iii. I. 17-20, 
a stanza is introduced from the immortal lyric, ' Come live with me 
and be my love.' For similar Marlowe touches compare T. G. of V. 
i. I. 20-27 (a less complimentary allusion), A. W. i. 3. 74, 75, and 
R. and J. v. i. 8, where Romeo's 'breath'd such life with kisses in 
my lips ' is an obvious reminiscence of Hero and LeanderT 

89. Your proper. Your own. Cf. Temp. iii. 3. 60 : "Their 
proper selves," etc. Rate = find fault with, 



Scene II] Notes 219 

90. And do a deed that fortune never did. "Act with more in- 
constancy and caprice than ever did fortune" (Henley). 

104. Eld. The quarto has " elders," the folios " old." Eldviz.% 
the conjecture of Theobald, and is favoured by the use of the word 
in M. W. iv. 4. 36 and M.for M. iii. I. 36. 

107. Moiety. Portion ; not a half. Cf I Hen. IV. iii. I. 96 : 
" my moiety . . . equals not one of yours," etc. 

109. Ilion. The Greek form of the word, used interchangeably 
with the Latin Ilitim. 

no. Our firebrand brother. Hecuba before the birth of Paris 
dreamed that she should be delivered of a burning torch. Cf. 
Virgil, ^neid, x. 705 : — 

" una quem nocte Theano 
In lucem genitori Amyco dedit, et face praegnans 
Cisseis regina Parim." 

116. Discourse of reason. Cf. Ham. i. 2. 150 : "that wants dis- 
course of reason" (see Id. iv. 4. 36), and 0th. iv. 2. 153 : "dis- 
course of thought." Discourse formerly meant the logical process 
of reasoning. 

117. Bad success. A bad issue. See on i. 3. 340 above. 

121. Nor once deject the courage, etc. That is, lower or depress 
it. Elsewhere S. uses only the participle dejected, or the contrac- 
tion deject (as in 50 above and Ham. iii. I. 163). 

123. Distaste. Spoil the taste or quality of. In 66 above it is = 
disrelish, dislike ; and in iv. 4. 48, if we adopt the folio distasting, 
it is intransitive and = to be distasteful (cf. 0th. iii. 3. 327). 

125. To make it gracious. To grace it, or set it off. 

128. The weakest spleen. "The dullest and coldest heart" 
(Schmidt). 

130. Convince. Convict ; not used elsewhere by S. in this 
sense. 

132. Attest. Call to witness ; the only instance of this sense 
in S. 



220 Notes [Act II 

133. Propensio7i. Propensity, inclination ; used by S. only here, 
z.% prop end ( = incline) only in 190 below. 

135. Can. For the absolute and transitive use, of. Lear, iv. 



4- 



" What can man's wisdom 
In the restoring his bereaved sense ? " 



136. Propugnation. Defence ; used by S. only here. 

139. Pass. Pass through, undergo ; as in (9//;.i. 3, 131, 167, etc. 

145. So to be valiant. To be valiant in that way. 

148. Rape. Abduction, carrying off. So ransacked just below 
= carried off, taken by force ; like the Latin rapta. Verity 
remarks : " Schmidt explains the word as = ravished in this play ; 
but this might be misleading, unless it were explained that ravish- 
ment, in legal phraseology, meant, originally, what we now call ' ab- 
duction ; ' and therefore ravished \vov\^ mean simply 'abducted,' 
and not, as it would imply generally nowadays, the crime uf rape. 
It will be noticed that just above, in line 148, Paris uses rape in 
the sense in which it was used in Shakespeare's time, for mere 
* abduction.' According to Cowell rape was used only in this sense 
in civil law, never in criminal. Spenser uses the word ransacked 
in the sense of ' violate ' (i. 6. 5) in the well-known passage where 
Archimago tries to ravish Una : ' And win rich spoils of ransackt 
chastitee.' Of course the queen is Helen, not, as Hunter says, 
Hesione." 

152. Her possession. Possession of her. 

154. Strain. Impulse ; as often. Cf. M. W.\\. i. 91, L. L. Z. 
V. 2. 170, etc. 

156. On our party. On oViX: part, or side. Cf. K.John, i. I. 34 : 
" Upon the right and party of her son." 

165. Gloz'd. Commented ; but, as usual in S., with the added 
idea of sophistry. Cf. Hen. V. i. 2. 40 : " unjustly gloze," etc. 
Mr. Verity cites Milton's "well-plac'd words oi glozing courtesy" 
{Comus, 161). It is not hard to see how the meaning arose. The 
gloss was the word which needed explanation ; then it came to 



Scene II] Notes 221 

signify the explanation itself ; and finally, by an easy transition, a 
false explanation. A good instance of its use occurs in Ford's 
Perkin Warbeck, i. 2 : — 

" You construe my griefs to so hard a sense, 
That where the text is argument of pity, 
Matter of earnest \o\e, your gloss corrupts it," 

1 66. Young men, zvhom Aristotle thought, etc. Aside from the 
anachronism — common enough in S. — there is a mistake which 
Bacon has also made in Adv. of L. ii. : " Is not the opinion of Aris- 
totle worthy to be regarded, wherein he saith that young men are 
not fit auditors of moral philosophy, because they are not settled 
from the boiling heat of their affections, nor attempered with time 
and experience ? " As Mr. Ellis has pointed out, it is not of moral 
but oi political philosophy that Aristotle speaks. It is possible that 
S. may have taken the allusion from Bacon's book, which was pub- 
lished in 1605. Judge Holmes (^Authorship of Sh.) of course tries 
to make the coincidence tell in favour of the Baconian theory. It 
is curious that Virgilio Malvezzi, in his Discorsi sopra Cornelia 
Tacito, 1622, makes the same mistake : "E non e discordante da 
questa mia opinione Aristotele, il qual dice, che i giovanni non sono 
buoni ascultatori delle morali.''^ Other instances of it have been 
pointed out. 

172. More deaf than adders. For this old superstition, cf. Sonn. 
112. 10 and 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 76. See also Randolph, Muse^s 
Looking Glass : — 

" How happy are the moles that have no eyes ! 
How blessed the adders that they have no ears ! " 

177. Affection. Here apparently = sensual passion, lust ; as in 
W. T. i. 2. 138 : "Affection ! thy intention stabs the centre." 

178. Of partial indulgence. That 'xs, from or through such in- 
dulgence (Mason). Partial = to which they are unduly inclined. 
S. does not use the word in the sense of " in part." 



222 Notes [Act II 

179, Benumbed. Insensible, or "no longer obedient to superior 
direction" (Johnson). 

184. These moral laws, etc. "What the law does in every 
nation between individuals, justice ought to do between nations" 
(Johnson). 

189. hi %vay of t'l uth, etc. "Though, considering truth and 
justice in this question, this is my opinion, yet as a question of 
honour I think on it as you" (Johnson). 

190. Spritely. Spirited ; also spelt sprightly. Cf. I Hen. IV. 
ii. 4. 377, etc. 

196. The performance of our heaving spleens. The carrying out 
of our resentful impulses. 

202. Canonize. Enroll among heroes or demigods ; accented 
on the second syllable, as elsewhere in S. Cf. K. John, iii. i. 177 
or Ham. i. 4. 47. 

206. Revenue. Accented by S. on the first or second syllable 
according to the measure. 

208. Hoisting. Roistering, bullying ; used by S. nowhere else. 

211. Advertis'' d. Regularly accented by S. on the second 
syllable. 

212. Emulation. In a bad sense (= envy), as often in S. Cf. 
/. C. ii. 3. 14 : — 

" My heart laments that virtue cannot live 
Out of the teeth of emulation." 

Scene III. — 5. ' Sfoot. Corrupted from " God's foot." See on 
i. 2. 221 above. 

8. Enginer. An early form of engineer. Cf. Ham. iii. 4. 206 
and 0th. ii. i. 65. Cf. also mutiner, pioner, etc. 

12. Serpentine. Used by S. only here. It is suggested by the 
serpents twined on the caduceus. 

14. Short-armed. Some editors adopt Dyce's conjecture of 
" short-aimed ;" but short-armed (^^ not reaching far) is no bad 
epithet. 



Scene III] Notes 223 

19, Bone-ache. Cf. v. 1. 23 below, the only other instance of 
the word in S. It alludes to the effects of venereal diseases. 

20. Placket. Petticoat ; here = woman, Cf. L. L. L. iii. i, 
186, W. T. iv. 4. 245, 622, and Lear, iii. 4. 100. 

26. Slipped. There is a play upon slip as applied to a counter- 
feit coin ; as in R. and J. ii. 4. 51. 

29. Heaven bless thee from. That is, preserve thee from. Cf. 
Rich. III. iii. 3. 5 : "God bless the prince from all the pack of 
you ! " where the quartos have " keep " for bless. 

31. Blood. "Passions, natural propensities" (Malone). Cf. 
M.for M. ii. i. 12, ii. 4. 15, 178, v. i. 477, Much Ado, ii. i. 187, 
etc. 

34. Lazars. Lepers ; as in v. i. 67 below. 

52. Decline. That is, go through in detail, like one declining a 
noun. Cf. Rich. III. iv. 4. 97, M. W. iv. i. 42, etc. 

62. Derive. Deduce. 

68. Of the prover. That is, of him who proves to be a fool, or 
yourself. The reading is that of the quarto ; the folio has " to the 
creator." 

72. Patchery. Botching ; or " gross and bungling hypocrisy " 
(Schmidt). The word occurs again in T. of A. v. i. 99. 

74. Emulous. Envious. See on ii. 2. 212 above. The folio 
has " emulations." 

75. Serpigo. Tetter, leprosy ; mentioned again in M. for M. 
iii. I. 31. The subject — the subject of the quarrel. 

80. Shent. Rated, scolded ; as in T. N. iv. 2. 112: "I am 
shent for speaking to you," etc. The quarto has " sate," and the 
folio " sent ; " corrected by Theobald. 

81. Appertain77ients. That is, the dignity belonging to us. 
The quarto has " appertainings," which is found in L. C. 115. 

99. Fraction. Breach, discord ; zs, faction = union, alliance. 

100. Cojnposure. Combination, bond ; the only instance of this 
sense in S. In 242 below, as in A. and C. i. 4, 22, it is = com- 
position. 



224 Notes [Act II 

105. The elephatit hath joints, etc. It was an old notion that the 
elephant had no joints in his legs. Steevens quotes All ''s Lost by 
Lust, 1633 : " Stubborn as an elephant's leg, no bending in her ;" 
and All Fools, 1605 : "I hope you are no elephant, you have 
joints." Sir Thomas Browne discusses the matter soberly in his 
Vulgar Errors. 

no. This noble state. Johnson took this to be = "person of 
high dignity," referring to Agamemnon ; but it probably means 
" the stately train " accompanying him, as Steevens explains it. Cf. 
262 below and iv. 2. 71. 

112. Digestion sake. The possessive inflection was often 
omitted before sake, not only in nouns ending with a sibilant, but 
in others. Cf. " fashion sake " (^A. Y. L. iii. 2. 271), " oath sake " 
{T. N. iii. 4. 326), "sport sake" (i Lien. LV. ii. I. 78), etc. 

113. Breath. "Breathing" (^A. W. i. 2. 17), or exercise. Cf. 
iv. 5. 92 below. 

116. Apprehensions. Capacity to apprehend, perception. Cf. 
Lien. V. iii. 7. 145, LLa77i. ii. 2. 319, etc. 

117. Attribute. Reputation; as in IIa7ti. i. /[. 22: "The pith 
and marrow of our attribute." 

119. Not virtuously, etc. "Not regarded by himself as it be- 
comes a virtuous man, but with pride and arrogance" (Schmidt). 

127. Savage strangeness. Rude distance or "ofhshness" of 
manner. Cf. iii. 3. 45, 51 below. Tend ^= attend, wait on ; 
like tend on in iv. 4. 146 and v. I. 74 below. 

129. Underwrite. Subscribe or submit to. Cf. subscribes to in 
iv. 5. 105 below, and subscription (= submission) in Lear, iii. 2. 
118, the only instance of the word in S. 

130. LLu-morous. Capricious ; as often. Predominance was 
originally an astrological term. 

131. Lunes. Lunatic freaks; as in IV. T. ii. 2. 30: "These 
dangerous unsafe lunes i' the king, beshrew them ! " The folio 
has " pettish lines," and the quarto " course, and time." Lunes is 
due to Hanmer. Until recently lunes had been found in no other 



Scene III] Notes 225 

English writer, but Rev. Dr. A. B. Stark informs me that two 
instances of it occur in Greene's Mamillia, reprinted as Vol. I. 
of Grosart's " Huth Library." On p. 189, we have : "The more 
she strove against the streame the lesse it did prevaile, the closer 
shee couered the sparke, the more it kindled : yea, in seeking to 
unlose the Lunes, the more she was intangled;" and, again, on 
p. 198 : "either thou must be the man which must unlose me from 
the Lunes, or else I shal remaine in a lothsome Laberinth til the 
extreme date of death deliuer me." The Neiv Eng. Diet, gives 
no example except from S. earlier than 1778. 

133. Rode on his tide. Were dependent on him. 

135. Engine. Used by S. for any instrument or device. Cf. V. 
and A. 367 : " the engine of her thoughts " (her tongue) ; A. W. 
iii. 5. 21 : "promises, enticements, oaths, token, and all these 
engines of lust;" 0th. \\\. 3. 355 : "mortal engines" (cannon), 
etc. 

138. Allowance. See on i. 3. 377 above. 

141. In second voice. With a substitute, or proxy. He must 
come himself. 

1 60. Engendering. Spawn. 

166. Dispose. Disposition ; as in 0th. i. 3. 403. Elsewhere it 
is = disposal. 

168. Self-admission. Self-approbation ; or at his own choice. 

170. Untent. Used by S. only here. 

174. Self-breath. That is, the speaking to himself, his own 
words. 

177. Kingdom' d Achilles in commotion rages, etc. Qi.J. C. ii„ 

I. 66: — 

" The genius and the mortal instruments 
Are then in council ; and the state of man, 
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then 
The nature of an insurrection." 

179. Plaguy. There is a play upon the word, as shown by the 
following death-tokens ( = plague-spots). These were the dark 

TROILUS — 15 



226 Notes [Act II 

spots on people afflicted with the plague which were supposed 
to portend death. Cf. A. and C. iii. lo. 9. Steevens wanted to 
strike out plaguy, which he believed to be "the wretched inter- 
polation of some foolish player." 

187. Seam. Fat. Ritson says that swine-sea?n \s, = hog^s-Xsixd, 
in the North of England. Cf, enseamed vix Ham. iii. 4. 92, 

190. Ruminate. Ruminate on, have reference to. 

191. Of that we hold. By him whom we regard. 

193. Stale. Make stale or vulgar. Cf. A. atid C. iv, i. 38 and 
y. C. i. 2. 73. Pal?n ; that is, emblem of honour. 

194. Assubjugate. Bring into subjection, debase ; used by S. 
only here. 

198. Add niore coals to Cancer. Add heat to the summer; 
Cancer being the zodiacal sign the sun enters at the summer 
solstice. For Hyperion = Apollo, the sun-god, cf. Ham. i. 2. 140, 
iii. 4. 56, Hen. V. iv. i. 292, etc. 

204. Pash. Smash, strike hard enough to crush ; used by S. 
only here and in v. 5. 10 below. Cf. Jonson, Sejanus : "You pash 
yourselves in pieces, ne'er to rise;" Chapman, Iliad: "pash'd 
with mighty stones," etc. Browning has it in Childe Roland^ 
stanza 12. 

207. Pheeze. Probably = tease, torment, but explained by some 
as = beat. Cf. T. of S. ind, i. i ; the only other instance in S. 

213. The raven chides blackness, "The pot calls the kettle 
black." 

214. Let his humours blood. Bleed his humours. Cf. Cymb. iv. 
2. 168 : " I 'd let a parish of such Clotens blood," etc, 

224. Through warm. Warmed through, or thoroughly warmed. 
Force = stuff ; as in v. i. 59 below. Force-meat is still in use, 
233. Emulous. Envious. See on 74 above, 
235. Palter. Shuffle, equivocate ; as in v. 2. 48 below. 

241. Strange. Distant, reserved. See on 127 above. Self- 
affected = self-loving. 

242. Composure. See on 100 above. 



Scene III] Notes 227 

243. She. Changed by Pope and White to " her ; " but such 
confusion of the inflections of pronouns occurs often in S. On the 
passage Steevens compares Luke, xi. 27. 

244. Fam^d. The quarto reading ; the folio has " Fame." 
249. Miio. The famous athlete of Crotona, who is said to have 

carried a four-year-old bull more than forty yards on his shoulders. 
For addition = title, see on i. 2. 20 above. 

252. Dilated. "Expansive" (Schmidt). 

253. Antiquary. Ancieftt, or full of old lore ; used by S. only 
here. 

254. He must, he is, he cannot but be wise. For the ellipsis, cf. 
i. 3. 289 above. 

258. Shall I call you father ? " S. had a custom prevalent about 
his own time in his thoughts. Ben Jonson had many who called 
themselves his sons. Mr. Vaillant adds that Cotton dedicated his 
Treatise on Fishing to his father Walton; and that Ashmole, in 
his Diary, observes : * Mr. William Backhouse, of Swallowfield, 
in com. Berks, caused me to call him father thenceforward ' " 
(Steevens). 

259. Ay, my good son. The folio gives this to " Ulis.,^^ and 
Clarke thinks it should be so ; but the question seems to have 
been suggested by tht father Nestor in 255. 

262. State. Council. See on i. 3. 191 above. 

264. Main. Might, full force. Cf. Ham. iv. 4. 15, etc. 

266. Cope. Cf. i. 2. 2>Z above. 




ACT III 



Scene I. — 3. When he goes before. Cf. Goldsmith, Elegy on 
Mrs. Mary Blaize : — 

" The king himself has followed her — 
When she has walked before." 

13. Knoiv your honour better. "The servant means to quibble. 
He hopes that Pandarus will become a better man than he is at 
present. In his next speech he chooses to understand Pandarus as 
if he had said he wished to grow better, and hence the servant 
affirms that he is in the state of grace " (Malone). 

16. Honour and lordship. According to Steevens, jj/^«r honour 
and your lordship were used interchangeably in the time of S. 
Grace was the title only of persons of the highest rank — kings, 
princes, dukes, etc. 

23. Who play they to ? Allowable in the Elizabethan grammar. 
Cf. Cyjnb. iv. 2. 75 : " To who ? " 0th. iv. 2. 99 : " With who ? " etc. 

35. Invisible. Changed by Hanmer to "visible;" but it prob- 
ably means, as Johnson suggests, " invisible everywhere else ; " or 

228 



Scene I] Notes 229 

as Clarke well puts it, " the ethereal spirit of love as impersonated 
in her." 

42. Seethes. A figure like that of " hot haste." The servant 
plays upon it in his reply, in which some see an allusion to the 
"sweating-tub" (cf. M.for M. iii. 2. 60, Hen. V. ii. i. 79, etc.). 

51. Broken music. Chappell says : " Some instruments, such as 
viols, violins, flutes, etc., were formerly made in sets of four, which 
when played together formed a * consort.' If one or more of the 
instruments of one set were substituted for the corresponding ones 
of another set, the result was no longer a ' consort,' but ' broken 
music' " For the play upon the expression, cf. A. Y. L. i. 2. 149 
and Hen. V. v. 2. 263, White makes broken-music = " music in 
parts." 

52. Cousin. Used of almost any relationship ; as nephew, niece, 
uncle, brother-in-law, grandchild, etc. 

60. In fits. Apparently = when the humour takes yoii ; with a 
play upon the musical sense of fits as applied to the divisions of a 
song or tune. 

68. Honey-sweet lord. Cf. Hen. K ii. 3. i : " honey-sweet hus- 
band," etc. See also 147 below, 

71. Bob. Cheat. Cf. 0th. v. i. 16 : "Of gold and jewels that I 
bobb'd from him," etc. 

78. Itt truth, la I For the use of la ! to emphasize a statement, 
cf. M. W.\. I. 86, 266, 322, ii. 2. 108, Cor. i. 3. 73, 100, etc. 

89. You must not knoxu where he sups. The early eds. give this 
to Helen ; corrected by Hanmer. 

91. Disposer. Dyce is probably right in taking the word here to 
be = " disposed or inclined to pleasant talk — my merry, free- 
spoken damsel." Cf. L. L. L. ii. i. 250. Clarke remarks : "This 
epithet serves to aid in depicting Cressida with the consistency of 
frivolous character by which the dramatist has marked her. Our 
here being let to perceive by a single significant word that she has 
been a light talker with Paris, a gay flutterer and chatterer with him 
who caused Helen's abduction, is perfectly in accordance with her 



230 Notes [Act III 

manner throughout the play, and especially at the time of her 
introduction to the assembled generals of the Grecian camp, in 
iv. 5." 

113. You may, you 7nay. That is, you may have your little 
joke. Cf. Cor. ii. 3. 39, where it is used in the same way. 

117. Good now. Explained by Hudson as = " well now ; " but 
pretty certainly a vocative phrase, as in W. T.v. i. 19, Ham. i. i. 
70, etc. 

126. The wound to kill. The fatal wound. 

139. Vipers. Cf. Acts, xxviii. 3 and Matthew, iii. 7. 

142. Gallantry. The only instance of the word in S. 

/ would fain have armed to-day, etc. Verplanck remarks : 
'* This trait of Paris, painted as a man of spirit and ability, yet 
wasting important hours in submission to the whims of his mistress, 
oddly resembles the anecdotes, of which the English memoirs are 
full, of the habits of Charles II. ; and to this the coincidence of 
the name, Nell, adds effect. It affords a proof of the general truth 
of the portrait, that the grandson of the monarch who reigned when 
this play was written should have thus, half a century afterwards, 
re-enacted the sauntering indolence of Paris." 

143. How chance, etc. How chances it, etc. Cf. M. N. D.'\. i. 
129, V. I. 318, etc. 

158. Obey . . . to. Cf. Phoenix and Turtle, 4 : "To whose 
sound chaste v^^ings obey; " Spenser, F. Q. iii. 11. 34 : " Lo now 
the heavens obey to me aloiie," etc. See also Romans, vi. 16. 

163. Palm. Cf. ii. 3. 193 above. 

Scene II, — 9. The Stygian banks. For other allusions to the 
infernal river Styx, see v. 4. 19 belovi^, T. A. i. I. 88, and Rich. III. 
i. 4. 45. 

10. Waftage. Ferriage, passage. Cf. C. of E. iv. i. 95 : "A 
ship you sent me to, to hire waftage." Charon is the " sour ferry- 
man " of Rich. III. i. 4. 46. 

13. Pandarus. The quarto has " Pandar." Pope omits (9. 



Scene II] Notes 231 

16. OrcHard. Garden; the usual meaning in S. Ci.Ham.i. 
5- 50> etc. 

20. Palate tastes. The folio has " watry pallats taste ; " corrected 
by Hanmer. Watery = watering, longing. 

21. Reptired. Purified; the reading of the quarto. The Cam- 
bridge ed. says : " Steevens's reprint has ' reputed ' — an error 
which seems to have been the source of the statement that some 
copies of the quarto have that reading." The folios all have 
" reputed." 

22. Swooning. The early eds. have " Sounding," as in some 
other passages. The Cambridge ed. reads " Swounding," a form 
which was also common. 

23. Subtle-potent. The hyphen was inserted by Theobald. For 
tunhi too the folios have " and too." 

27. Battle. Army ; as often. On heaps = in heaps, or crowds ; 
as in Hen. V. iv. 5. 18 : " Let us on heaps go offer up our lives," 
etc. 

30. Aftist be witty. " Must have your wits about you " (Clarke). 

31. Frayed with. Frightened by ; the only instance of the verb 
inS. 

2,2,. Villain. For the use of the word as a term of endearment, 
cf. W. T. i. 2. 136 : " Sweet villain ! " 

36. Thicker. Quicker. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. ii. 3. 24 : " speaking 
thick," etc. 

37. Bestowing. Functions. 

38. Vassalage. Vassals, subjects ; the abstract for the concrete. 
43. Watched. Kept from sleeping ; as hawks were in taming 

them. Cf. T. of S. iv. i. 198, 0th. iii. 3. 23, etc. 

46. Fills. Shafts. Cf. fill-horse in M. of V. ii. 2. 10 1. The 
word is still in familiar use in New England, but obsolete in Old 
England. 

47. Draw this curtain, etc. Cf. T. N. i. 5. 251 : "but we will 
draw the curtain and show you the picture ; " where, as here, the 
reference is to unveiling the face. 



232 Notes [Act III 

49. Rub on, and kiss the mistress. " The allusion is to bowling. 
What we now call the jack [cf. Cymb. ii. i. 2 : "kissed the jack," 
etc.] seems, in Shakespeare's time, to have been termed the mis- 
tress. A bowl tliat kisses Xh-o. jack or mistress is in the most advan- 
tageous position. Rtib on is a term at the same game" (Malone). 
Cf. K. John, iii. 4. 1 28. 

50. In fee-far?n. In perpetuity ; " a y^(?-yar/« being a grant of 
lands in fee, that is, for ever, reserving a certain rent " (Malone). 

52. The falcon as the tercel. The female hawk as good as the 
male ; that is, Cressida will be as good as Troilus. In what follows 
we have an allusion to hawking along river banks. In Jonson's 
The Forest one of the rural amusements mentioned is : " hawk- 
ing at the river." Cf. also Chaucer, Sir Thopas: — 

" Couthe hunt at wild deer, 
And ride on hawkyng for ryver, 
With gray goshawk on honde." 

For all the ducks V the river. " Pandarus means that he '11 match 
his niece against her lover for any bet" (Theobald). 

59. * In witness zvhereof the parties interchangeably — .' "Have 
set their hands and seals " would naturally follow. Cf. 190 below : 
" a bargain made ; seal it, seal it ! " Malone cites AI. for M. 
iv. 1.5: — 

" But my kisses bring again, bring again ; 
Seals of love, but seal'd in vain, seal'd in vain ; " 

V. and A. 511 : — 

" Pure lips, sweet seals in my soft lips imprinted. 
What bargains may I make, still to be sealing ? " 

and K. John, ii. i . 20 : — 

" Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss, 
As seal to the indenture of my love." 

He might have added M. N. D. iii. 2. 144 and 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 
344. There is a play on the preceding billing. 



Scene II] Notes 233 

67. Abruption. Breaking off ; used by S. only here. Curious 
= causing care, embarrassing. 

69. Fears. The reading of the 3d folio ; the earlier eds. have * 
" teares." 

71. Cherubins. S. has cherubin regularly for the singular (ex- 
cept in Ham. iv. 3. 50, where we find cherub') and cherubins for the 
plural. 

73. Fear. Steevens assumes that there is an allusion to Fear as 
a personage in the old moralities ; but it is not necessary to sup- 
pose anything more than an ordinary personification. 

77. Pageant. A theatrical exhibition ; the regular sense in S. 
Cf. iii. 3. 273 below. See also on the verb in i. 3. 151 above. Pre- 
sented = represented ; as often. 

81. Imposition. A task if?iposed ox enjoined. Cf. M. of V. i. 2. 
114, iii- 4. ZZ, etc. 

diT). ATonstruosity . The reading of both quarto and folio. It is 
used by S. only here ; monstrosity not at all. Undergo = under- 
take ; as in W. T. ii. 3. 164, iv. 4. 554, etc. 

94. Allow us as we prove. Acknowledge us what we prove to 
be. 

98. Addition. Title. See on i. 2, 20 above. 

100. A mock, etc. "That is, only a mock for his truth. Even 
malice (for such is the meaning of the word envy) shall not be 
able to impeach his truth, or attack him in any other way, except 
by ridiculing him for his constancy " (Malone). 

115. rheyUl stick, etc. Cf. M. for M. iv. 3. 189 : "Nay, friar, 
I am a kind of burr ; I shall stick." 

135. Cunning. The early eds. have "Comming;" corrected 
by Pope. 

150. A kind of self, etc. Cf. Sonn. 133, 13. 

152, 153. / would be gone, etc. The quarto reading and ar- 
rangement. The folio has 

" Where is my wit ? 
I would be gone : I speake I know not what." 



234 Notes [Act III 

155. Show. The quarto reading. The folio has "shew" ( = 
showed). 

156. Roundly. Frankly, plainly; the only sense in S. Cf. 
A. y. L. V. 3. II, T. of S. i. 2. 59, iv. 4. 108, v. 2. 21, etc. 

158. For to be wise and love, etc. Tyrwhitt quotes Spenser, 
Shep. Kal. March : — 

" To be wise, and eke to love 
Is granted scarce to gods above." 

Malone finds the sentiment in Publius Syrus : " Amare et sapere 
vix Deo conceditur." Cf. Bacon, Essay x. : " It was well said that 
it is impossible to love and be wise ; " and Adv. of L. ii. : " it is 
not granted to man to love and be wise." " But the real difficulty, 
the rock over which the editorial barques of Hanmer and others 
have hopelessly been shattered, is the unlucky for in line 149. 
* V^hy for,'' said Malone, finding the unfortunate for 'inconsequen- 
tial.' No doubt Cressida's reasoning is a trifle irregular. Such 
arguments would not pass muster in Mill's Logic ; but the editors 
might have remembered that, in the first place, the speaker is a 
woman ; and, in the second place, being in love, she cannot, 
according to her own showing, * be wise.' Really, it is perfectly 
easy to trace the line of thought. * I angled,' she says, ' for your 
thoughts, but got nothing out of you, either because you are not 
in love, or because you are too wise ; ' and then the words zvise 
and love remind her of the proverb, and she whimsically rounds 
off her sentence with, ' for you know, you can't both love and be 
wise.' It is an admirable non sequitur, a triumph of feminine 
reasoning power, and ten times as true to life as the logical pro- 
prieties suggested by the commentators" (Verity). 

168. Affronted. Confronted. "I wish my integrity might be 
met and matched with such equality and force of pure unmingled. 
love" (Johnson). For affronted, cf. Ham, iii. i. 31: "affront 
Ophelia," etc. 

177. Compare. For the noun, cf. R. and J. ii. 5. 43, iii. 5. 238, etc. 



Scene II] Notes 235 

179. Plantage. Vegetation; alluding to the old belief that 
plants grew with the increase of the moon. vScot, in his Discov- 
erie of Witchcraft (which we know that S. had read), says: "The 
poore husbandman perceiveth that the increase of the moone 
maketh plants frutefull," etc. 

180. Turtle. Turtle-dove ; the only sense of the word in S. 

181. Adamant. The lodestone ; as in.i1/. A'l Z>. ii. I. 195 : "You 
draw me, you hard-hearted adamant." Cf. The Return from Par- 
nassus, ii. I : " I am her needle, she my adamant." 

The centre. That is, its place in the centre of the Ptolemaic 
system. See on i. 3. 85 above. 

190. Characterless. Unrecorded ; accented on the second syl- 
lable, as the verb character often is, and the noun in Rich. III. iii. 
I. 81. 

205. Constant. Changed by Hanmer to "inconstant," on ac- 
count of the " false one to another " which precedes ; but as 
Malone and Heath remark, S. may have had in mind "the event 
of the story." White (though he decides to retain constant^ says 
that Malone's suggestion is " more than plausible," but that " S. 
writing a speech for a character would write as that character 
would think under the circumstances in which he was placed." 
But it is not necessary to suppose that he purposely made the 
statement correspond with the event ; he may have done it inad- 
vertently. Or it may be that Pandarus, though he says " false to 
one another," is thinking of the " true as Troilus " and " false as 
Cressida" that have ended and emphasized the preceding speeches, 
and shapes his imprecation accordingly. I am inclined personally 
to think this last the correct explanation. 

210. With a bed. These words are not in the early eds., but 
were supplied by Hanmer. The context requires it, or something 
like it. Because it shall not = that it may not. 

211. Press it to death. A punning allusion to the punishment 
of pressing to death, for which cf. Much Ado, ii. i. 76, M. for M. 
v. I. 528, etc. 



236 



Notes [Act III 



213. Pandar. The folios have "and Pander." Y ox gear, see 
on i. I. 6 above. 

Scene III. — 3. Appear it. Let it appear. It is not necessary to 
resort to the desperate expedient of making appear a transitive verb. 

4. Things to love. If this be what S. wrote, the meaning of the 
passage must be, "Through my peculiar knowledge as to where 
it is well to place affection or regard, I have abandoned Troy " 
(White). The quarto and the ist foHo both have "loue," though 
some have thought it might be " loue," and therefore, with John- 
son, read " Jove," connecting " to Jove " with what follows. The 
2d and 3d folios have love, which the 4th folio changes to " come." 
Steevens explained the passage thus : " No longer assisting Troy 
with my advice, I have left it to the dominion of love, to the con- 
sequences of the amour of Paris and Helen." It is an objection to 
Johnson's reading (though attempts have been made to explain it 
away) that Jove favoured the Trojans, and Calchas would hardly 
speak of abandoning them to a friend or patron. It may be added 
that some connect "to Jove " with things, making it mean "things 
pertaining to Jove ; " but that seems a forced interpretation. A 
writer in the Edin. Rev. (July, 1 869) , who thus explains " things to 
Jove," also thinks that sight is not foresight, but " has the general 
sense of acquaintance, skill, technical knowledge, professional con- 
versancy — a meaning by no means unusual in Shakespeare's day ; " 
but S. does not use sight in that sense (though he has well-seen = 
well-skilled in T. of S.\. 2. 134), and I cannot see that to explain 
it so here would help us in the least. The sole difficulty is in the 
to love or to Jove. 

8. Sequestering from me. Separating from me, putting aside. 
Cf. A. Y. L. ii. I. 33 : "a poor sequester'd stag" (that is, separated 
from the herd). 

12. Into. Changed by some to "unto ; " but cf. A. W. i. 3. 
260 : " And pray God's blessing into thy attempt." See also T. A'. 
v. I. 87, Hen. V. i. 2. 102, ii. 2. 173, Ham. ii. 2. 28, etc. 



Scene III] Notes 237 

21. In right great exchange. That is, offering a distinguished 
Trojan prisoner in exchange. 

23. Wrest, Literally, a tuning-key ; therefore, figuratively, 
" that upon which the harmonious ordering of their affairs depends " 
(Clarke). Hanmer has "rest" (the conjecture of Theobald); but 
slack carries out the metaphor in wrest, and shows that the old 
reading is correct. Cf. the same figure in " o'er- wrested," i. 3. 157 
above. See also Macb. i. 7. 60. Verity quotes a very curious 
letter : " whearin, part of the entertainment untoo the queenz 
Maiesty, at Killingwoorth Castl, in Warwick Sheer, in this Soomerz 
Progress, 1575, is signified," written by Robert Laneham, and 
quoted in part in the introductory essay to Percy's Reliques of 
Ancient English Poetry. It gives a minute account of the equip- 
ment of an ancient minstrel, and among his accoutrements were : 
"About his neck a red ribband suitable to his girdle. His harp in 
good grace dependent before him. His wrest tyed to a green lace 
and hanging by." So again in A treatise between trouth and in- 
formation, printed among Skelton's Works, and referred to by 
Douce, we find : — 

" A harpe geveth sounde as it is sette, 
The harper may wrest it untunablye ; 
A harper with his wrest may tune the harpe wrong, 
Mystunyng of an instrument shal hurt a true songe." 

Equally to the point is his reference to King James's edict against 
combats: "this small instrument the tongue being kept in tune 
by the wri?^/ of awe." In Minsheu's Dictionary, 1627, the verb to 
wrest is explained : " to winde, to wring, to straine," and translated 
by the Latin torquere, contorquere. 

25. Manage. The noun occurs often in S. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 70, 
M. of V. iii. 4. 25, etc. 

30, In most accepted pain. " Even in those labours which were 
most accepted" (Steevens), or most acceptable to you. Clarke 
makes it = " as trouble that I have undergone most willingly," and 



238 Notes [Act III 

compares what Diomed says in the next speech but one. This 
seems to be the meaning. 

43. Unplausive. Unapproving, indifferent; used by S. only 
here. 

Are bent on. The early eds. have "are bent ? why turn'd on ; " 
corrected by Pope. 

44. Medicinable. See on i. 3. 91 above. 

86. Do. The early eds. have "Doth" (corrected by Hanmer), 
which may have been a " confusion of construction." 

96. Writes nie that tnaji, etc. Some editors make "That man," 
etc. (or "Man," etc.), a passage which Ulysses reads from the 
book ; but I prefer, with others, to regard it as merely the sub- 
stance of what he professes to have been reading. 

How dearly ever parted. " However excellently endowed, with 
however dear or precious parts enriched or adorned" (Johnson). 
Mason notes that Jonson, in Every Man Out of his Humour, 
speaks of a man " well parted ; " and Massinger, in his Great Duke 
of Florence, says of Lydia that he chooses to " deliver her better 
parted than she is," etc. 

97. Having. Endowment. Cf. L. C.it^^\ "Whose rarest hav- 
ings made the blossoms dote," etc. Or without or in = either 
externally or internally, either in body or in mind. 

99. Owes. Owns, possesses ; as very often. 

105, 106. To others' . . . itself These lines are omitted in the 
folio. 

That most pure spirit of sense. "Which is sense itself, the very 
emblem of perceptivity" (Schmidt). See on i. i. 60 above. On 
the passage, cf.y. C. i. 2. 52 : — 

" No, Cassius ; for the eye sees not itself 
But by reflection by some other things." 

109. Speculation. The power of vision, including the idea of 
intelligence ; as in Macb. iii. 4. 95 : " Thou hast no speculation in 
those eyes," etc. 



Scene III] Notes 239 

no. Mirrored. The early eds. have "married," which Dr. 
Ingleby defends. On the passage, of. K. John, ii. i. 496 fol, 

1 14. Circumstance. " Detail or circumduction of his argu- 
ment " (Johnson). Cf. T. G. of V. iii. 2. 36, C. of E. v. i. 16, etc. 

116. Though in mid of hi77i, etc. However great his powers 
and possessions may be. Cf. 97 above. 

120. Who, like an arch, etc. Rowe changes who to "which ; '' 
but the former is often used for the latter. Cf. 201 below. 

123—128. I was much wrapt . . . dear in use. This is substan- 
tially the folio reading, and makes good sense. The quarto 

reads : — 

" I was much rap't in this, 
And apprehended here immediately. 
The unknoune Aiax, heavens what a man is there ? 
A very horse, that has he knowes not what 
Nature what things there are. 
Most abject in regard, and deere in use." 

Pope followed the folio down to Ajax ; afterwards he read : — 

" Heavens what a man is there ? A very horse. 
He knows not his own nature : what things are 
Most abject in regard, and dear in use." 

Hanmer, who in his preface declared that his guiding principle had 
been never " to give a loose to fancy, or indulge a licentious spirit 
of criticism," printed the lines thus : — 

" I was much rapt 
In this / read, and apprehended here 
Immediately the unknown Ajax : heavens ! 
What a man 's there ? A very horse, that has 
He knows not what : in nature what things there are 
Most abject in regard, and dear in use." 

125. The unhtown Ajax. Johnson takes this to mean "Ajax, 
who has abilities which were never brought into view or use ; " but 
it may simply refer to the fact that Ajax was unknown to the writer, 



240 Notes [Act III 

though so well described by him. Clarke makes unknown = 
" unknown to himself, wanting in true self-knowledge." 

126. A very horse. A mere horse. Cf. ii. i. 17 above, where 
Thersites makes him stupider than a horse. 

128. Abject in regard, etc. Poor in estimation, but precious in 
utility, little valued but very useful. 

131. An act, etc. Malone is clearly correct in making this line 
parenthetical. Capell makes act the object of see; and Rowe 
points the passage thus (perhaps equivalent to my pointing) : — 

" Now shall we see to-morrow, 
An act that very chance doth throw on him, 
Ajax renown'd ! " 

134. How so7ne men creep, etc. " While some men remain 
tamely inactive in Fortune's hall, without any effort to excite her 
attention, others, etc." (Malone). Johnson makes creep — "keep 
out of notice." Schmidt may be right in taking creep in to be 
= get secretly into. 

135. Play the idiots, etc. Act like fools while enjoying her favour. 
137. Fasting, etc. " Haughtily resting on his laurels" (Herford). 
145. Wallet. Bag, or knapsack. The word is used again in 

Temp. iii. 3. 46 : — 

" Who would believe that there were mountaineers 
Dew-lapp'd like bulls, whose throats had hanging at 'em 
Wallets of flesh ? " 

Cf. Spenser, F. Q. vi. 8. 24 : — 

" But tell me, Lady, wherefore doe you beare 
This bottle thus before you with such toile, 
And eeke this wallet at your backe arreare, 
That for these Carles to carry much more comely were ? " 

" ' Here in this bottle ' (sayd the sorry Mayd) 
* I put the tears of my contrition. 
Till to the brim I have it full defrayd : 
And in this bag, which I behinde me don, 
I put repentaunce for things past and gon.' " 



Scene III] Notes 241 

Collier says that this quotation is not in point, because it does not 
refer to the Time but to Mirabell ; but it may none the less have 
suggested the description of Time here. 

147. Ingratitudes. Repeated or habitual acts of ingratitude. 
For this use of the plural, not uncommon in S., cf. behaviours in 
Much Ado, ii, 3. 9, ii. 3. 100, etc. Great-siz^d is used by S. only 
here and in v. 10. 26 below. 

150. Perseverance. Accented on the second syllable, as in Macb. 
iv. 3. 93, the only other instance of the word in S. Persever is his 
only form for the verb. 

152. Mail. Coat of mail, suit of armour. 

158. Forthright. Straight path. Cf. 7>;w/. iii. 3. 3 : "forthrights 
and meanders." 

162. Lie there. That is, you lie there. 

168. Grasps in the cofjier. Hanmer reads " Grasps the in-comer," 
which would be well enough if any change were needed. 

175. One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. One 
natural trait is characteristic of all men. A writer in the London 
AthencEutn, March 18, 1871, conjectures that touch should be tache 
(— defect or blemish), and cites sundry examples of that old word; 
but toiich may mean either a good or a bad characteristic, and may 
therefore stand. The context makes all clear. White paraphrases 
it thus (^Galaxy, Feb. 1877): "There is one point on which 
all men are alike, one touch of human nature which shows the 
kindred of all mankind — that they slight familiar merit and prefer 
trivial novelty." Of the common misapplication of the line he 
says : " It has come to be always quoted with the meaning implied 
in the following indication of emphasis : ' One touch of nature 
makes the whole world kin.' Shakespeare wrote no such senti- 
mental twaddle. Least of all did he write it in this play, in which 
his pen ' pierces to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of 
the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents 
of the heart.' The line which has been thus perverted mto an 
exposition of sentimental brotherhood among all mankind, is on 

TROILUS— 16 



242 Notes [Act III 

the contrary one of the most cynical utterances of an undisputable 
moral truth, disparaging to the nature of all mankind, that ever 
came from Shakespeare's pen. . . . The meaning is too manifest to 
need or indeed to admit a word of comment, and it is brought out 
by this emphasis : ' One touch of nature makes the whole zvorld kin ' 
—-that one touch of their common failing being an uneasy love 
of novelty. Was ever poet's or sage's meaning so perverted, so 
reversed ! And yet it is hopeless to think of bringing about a 
change in the general use of this line and a cessation of its perver- 
sion to sentimental purposes, not to say an application of it as the 
scourge for vsrhich it was wrought ; just as it is hopeless to think of 
changing by any demonstration of unfitness and unmeaningness a 
phrase in general use — the reason being that the mass of the users 
are utterly thoughtless and careless of the right or the wrong, the 
fitness or the unfitness, of the words that come from their mouths, 
except that they serve their purpose for the moment. That done, 
what care they ? And what can we expect, when even the ' Globe ' 
edition of Shakespeare's works has upon its very title-page and its 
cover a globe with a band around it, on which is written this line, 
in its perverted sense, that sense being illustrated, enforced, and 
deepened into the general mind by the union of the band-ends by' 
clasped hands. I absolve, of course, the Cambridge editors of the. 
guilt of this twaddling misuse of Shakespeare's line ; it was a mere 
publisher's contrivance ; but I am somewhat surprised that they 
should have even allowed it such sanction as it has from its appear- 
ance on the same title-page with their names." Quotations from S. 
are often used to express a meaning, or shade of meaning, which is 
different from his ; but it does not always imply a misunderstanding 
of the passage, and is not necessarily objectionable. In the present 
instance, however, the real meaning has generally been misunder- 
stood, though the context makes it perfectly clear. 

178. Give. The early eds. have "goe" or " go ; " corrected by 
Theobald. 
. 179. Than gilt. Than /<? what is gilt, or golden. The quarto 



Scene III] Notes 243 

and thei ist and 2d folios have "then guilt ; " the later folios "in 
gilt." Hanmer reads' "tlian they will give to gold;" but of. 
Rich. II. ii. I. 294 : "our sceptre's gilt;; " Hen. V. ii. chor. 26 : 
" the gilt of France," etc. 0' er-dusted ; that is, if it happens to be 
covered with dust. 

181. Complete. Accented on the first syllable because before 
a noun so accented ; as in iv. i. 27 below. 

183. Sooner catch. The folio has "begin to catch," changed in 
the later folios to "gin to catch." 

189. Made emulous missions, etc. Referring to the descent of 
the gods to fight on one or the other side. As Steevens notes, S, 
probably followed Chapman's Iliad here : "In the 5th book, 
Diomed wounds Mars, who on his return to heaven is rated by 
Jupiter for having interfered in the battle." 

194. One of Priam'' s daughters. " Polyxena, in the act of marry- 
ing whom he was afterwards killed by Paris" (Steevens). Hud- 
son, in copying this note, inadvertently puts it thus : " Polyxena, 
whom he afterwards married, and graced the wedding with the 
killing of Paris." 

197. Phittis' gold. The folio has ^^ Pluto es gold ; " as in J. C. 
iv. 3. 102 it has " Pluto's Mine." The quarto reads " almost every 
thing." 

198. Uncomprehensive. Incomprehensible, mysterious ; used by 
S. only here. For deeps the quarto has " depth." 

199. Keeps place with thought. Hanmer reads "Keeps pace." 
Clarke remarks : " S. not only uses keeps place in another passage 
\_M. W. ii. I. 63] where keep pace might be substituted, but he 
also employs the word place where pace could be supposed to 
accord better with the context [cf. i. 3. 189 above]. Her.e, though 
keeps pace would accord with the swiftness of thought, yet keeps 
place consists more fully with the general scope of the passage, 
which treats of the universal diving of provident vigilance into the 
penetralia and innermost places where thinking conception origi- 
nates and dwells." 



244 Notes [Act III 

200. Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles. Malone con- 
jectured " infant thoughts," which is the meaning of course — 
thoughts not yet sufficiently developed for expression in words. 
Cradles may be a trisyllable, as some make it. Cf, p. 181. 

201. Whom. Changed by Pope to "which." Cf. 120 above. 
Johnson paraphrases the passage thus : " There is a secret admin- 
istration of affairs which no history was ever able to discover." 

204. Expressure. S. does not use expression. Expressure 
occurs again in T. N. ii. 3. 171 : " the expressure of his eye ; " and 
in M. W. V. 5. 71 : "The expressure it bears." 

205. Commerce. Accented on the second syllable, as in i. 3. 105 
above. These are the only instances in which S. uses the word in 
verse. 

210. Otir islajids. The quarto has " our iland," and the folio 
" her Iland." 

211. Greekish. The adjective occurs ten times in this play; 
but elsewhere (and much oftener) S. has Grecian. We find Greek 
as an adjective in iv. 5. 130, as in A. Y. L. ii. 5. 61 and T. of S. ii. 

I. lOI. 

214. Lover. One who loves you. Cf. M. of V. iii. 4. 7, 17, etc. 

224. And like a dew-drop, etc. Godwin (^Life of Chaucer^ 
remarks : " A more poetical passage, if poetry consists in sublime, 
picturesque, and beautiful imagery, neither ancient nor modern 
times have produced than the exhortation addressed by Patroclus 
to Achilles, to persuade him to shake off his passion for Polyxena, 
the daughter of Priam, and resume the terrors of his military 
greatness : — 

" ' Sweet, rouse yourself; and the weak wanton Cupid 
Shall from your neck unloose his amorous fold, 
And like a dew-drop from the lion's mane, 
Be shook to air." " 

228. Shrewdly gor''d. Badly wounded. For shrewdly, cf. Hen. V. 
iii. 7. 52, 163, etc.; and for gor''d, Hajn. v. 2. 261 : "To keep my 
name ungor'd." 



Scene III] Notes 245 

231. A blank of danger. Unknown or indefinite danger; the 
metaphor being taken from a blank commission to which one sets 
his seal before knowing how the document is to be filled out. For 
this use of blank, cf. Rich. II. ii. I. 250. Schmidt strangely takes 
blank to be the white mark in a target (cf. W. T. ii. 3. 5). 

238. An appetite, etc. This is fromCaxton : " The truce during, 
Hector went on a day unto the tents of the Greeks, and Achilles 
beheld him gladly, forasmuch as he had never seen him unarmed. 
And at the request of Achilles, Hector went into his tent ; and as 
they spake together of many things, Achilles said to Hector, I have 
great pleasure to see thee unarmed, forasmuch as I have never 
seen thee before." 

239. Weeds. Garments, dress ; as often. 

253. That hath no arithmetic, etc. Cf. the sneer at " a tapster's 
arithmetic " in i. 2. 1 19 above. 

254. Politic regard. " A sly look " (Johnson) . 

265. Opinion! Self-conceit; as in i Hen. IV. iii. i. 185 and 
Z. L. L. V. I. 6. In i. 3. 353 above it is used in a good sense 
(= self-confidence). 

273. Pageant. A theatrical representation. See on iii. 2. 77 
above. 

305. Catlings. Catgut strings. C^//m^ is made the name of a 
musician in R. and J. iv. 5. 132. On = of; as often. 

309. The more capable creature. That is, having better capa- 
bilities, or more intelligent. See on 126 above. For capable, cf. 
Rich. III. iii. i. 155, etc. The word is still used in New England 
in this sense. Within a few hours I have heard a man spoken of 
as " very smart and capable." 




DiOMEDES 



ACT IV 



Scene I. — 8. Process of your speech. The course of it, or what 
you said in it. 

9. A whole zveek by days. That is, day after day for a week. 
Some take it to mean seven days, but not all in one week. 

II. During all questio7i, tXz. During all intercourse permitted 
by the truce. For question, cf. A. V. L. iii. 4. 39, etc. 

14. The one and other. Cf. C. of E. iv. 3. 86 : ' " Both one and 
other he denies," etc. The omission of the article with one or with 
other, or both, is not uncommon in S. 

20. Humatie. The early eds. make no distinction between 
humane and htiman. The accent is regularly on the first syllable. 

22. By Venus^ hajid. Warburton saw here a hint of " his re- 
sentment for Diomedes' wounding his mother in the hand," and 
Clarke believes there is such an allusion ; but this is very im- 
probable. 

27. Complete. For the accent, see on iii. 3. 181 above. 

246 



Scene I] Notes 247 

^^. Hateful. Full of hate, malignant ; as m Rich. IT. ii. 2. 1 38 : 
" the hateful commons," etc. Some print " noblest-hateful." 

36. His purpose meets you. " I bring you his meaning and his 
orders" (Johnson). 

40. Constantly do think. Am firmly persuaded. 

44. Wherefore. The folio has " whereof." Quality — character, 
tenor. 

48. Disposition. Situation, circumstances. 
, 56, Soilure. Stain, defilement ; used by S. only here. 

57. Charge. Cost, expense ; as 60 shows. 

59. Palating. For the verb, cf. Cor. iii. I. 104 and A, and C. 
Vi 2. 7. 

62. A flat tamed piece. A cask that has been broached, and the 
contents of which have thus become flat to the taste. Y ox piece, cf. 
Beaumont and Fletcher, Monsieur Thomas, v. 10 : " Strike a fresh 
piece of wine," etc. 

. 75. .Chapmen.. Buyers. In L. L. L. ii. i. 16 (the only other 
instance in S.) it means sellers. 

78. We '// but commend what we intend to sell. The early eds. 
have " not " for but,, which is adopted by most of the editors. The 
Cambridge editors conjecture "without'' for what of the old text. 
Johnson and Malone retain the original reading, alnd take the 
meaning to be : " though you practise the buyer's art, we will not 
practise the seller's. We intend to sell Helen dear [that is, if we 
have to part with her], yet will not commend her." It has been 
objected to the reading in the text that it contradicts in silence; 
but it does not, for since they did not intend to sell Helen they had 
nothing to say in praise of her : We'll commend only what we 
intend to sell, and so we keep silence. Cf. Sonn. 21. 14 : "I 
will not praise that purpose not to sell." 

Scene II. — 4. Kill. If this be what S. wrote, it is a bit of lov- 
ing playfulness. " Seal," " lull," and " still " have been suggested 
as emendations. 



248 Notes [Act IV 

5. Attachment. Arrest, stop ; the only instance of the word 
in S. Cf. the verb attach (= arrest) in C. of E. iv. i. 69, 75, 106, 
iv. 2. 43, iv. 4. 85, etc. 

9. Ribald. " Base, rudely obstreperous, in contradistinction to 
the lark?" (Schmidt). Some make it = thievish, or roguish. 

12. Venomotis. Probably in a general sense = malignant, as 
opposed to lovers. Most editors follow Steevens in making 
venomous wights = " venefici, those who practise nocturnal sor- 
cery ; " but this seems forced and improbable. 

13. Tediously. The folio has " hidiously." 

34. Capocchia. " A fabricated feminine form of the Italian word 
capocchio, which means a dolt, a simpleton, a fool" (Clarke). The 
adjective capocchio (=1 dull, stupid) has the regular feminine capoc- 
chia. The noun capocchia means " the head of a stick, pin, nail, etc." 
The spelling of the early eds. is " chipochia." 

59. You '// be so trtie, etc. In pretending that he is not here 
you '11 harm him rather than help him. Some print " 'ware," but 
the word is not a contraction of aware. 

64. My 7natter is so rash. My business demands such haste. 

69. We must give up, etc. This part of the story is thus told by 
Caxton : " Calcas, that by the commandment of Apollo had left the 
Troyans, had a passing fair daughter, and wise, named Briseyda — 
Chaucer, in his book that he made of Troylus, named her Cresida 
— for which daughter he prayed to King Agamemnon, and to the 
other princes, that they would require the King Priamus to send 
Briseyda unto him. They prayed enough to King Priamus at the 
instance of Calcas, but the Troyans blamed sore Calcas, and called 
him evil and false traitor, and worthy to die, that had left his own 
land and his natural lord for to go into the company of his mortal 
enemies : yet, at the petition and earnest desire of the Greeks, the 
King Priamus sent Briseyda to her father." 

71. State of Troy. See on i. 3. 191 above. 

75. We met by chance. That is, let it be so understood. Cf. A. 
and C. i. 3. 4 : " I did not send you." 



Scene IV] Notes 249 

76. The secrets of nature. The folio reading ; the quarto has 
"the secrets of neighbor Pandar." Secrets may be a trisyllable. 
Dyce cites passages from Marlowe, Middleton, Ben Jonson, and 
Kyd in which it is so used. See p. 181 above. 

108. Extremes. The quarto has "extreames," the folio "ex- 
tremitie." 

Scene III. — i. Great morning. Broad day (Yt. grand jour 
ox grand matUi). Cf. Cymb. iv. 2. 62. 

3. Fast upon. Cf. Ham. i. 2. 179 : " it foUow'd hard upon," etc. 

Scene IV. — 4. Violenteth. Rageth, is violent; the only in- 
stance of the verb in S. The folio reads " And. no lesse in a sense," 
etc. Steevens quotes Fuller, Worthies : " His former adversaries 
violented any thing against him." Latimer has " Maister Pole 
violentes the text," etc. 

10. Such a precious loss. The loss of what is so precious. 

20. Friendship. That is, mere friendship as opposed to love ; 
as speaking = mere words, as opposed to loving acts. 

24. Strained. The folio has "strange." Cf. iv. 5. 169 below. 

25. Fancy. Love; as often. Cf. the verb in v. 2. 166 below. 
33. Where. Changed by Rowe to " while ; " but where is often 

= in which, in which case, etc. 

36. Rejoindure. Being rejoined, or united again ; used by S. 
only here. The same is true of embrasures (= " embraces," which 
Pope substitutes) in the next line. 

42. Injurious. Often used by S. in a stronger sense than the 
word now has. 

45. Distinct. Accented on the first syllable, as in M. of V. ii. 
9. 61 : "To offend and judge are distinct offices." See on complete, 
iii. 3. 181 above. The accent of consigned is to be explained in the 
same way. 

Consigned kisses to them. Kisses allotted to them. Some make 
consign^ d-= consigning, that is, sealing, confirming. 



250. Notes [Act IV 

48. Distasted, Made distasteful, embittered. See on ii. 2. 123 
above. Broken = interrupted. 

50. The Genius. The spirit that was supposed to direct the 
actions of man. Qi. Macb.m.. i. 56:^ 

" and under him 
My Genius is rebuk'd, as it is said 
Mark Antony's was by Caesar." 

See also A. and C. ii. 3. 19, and C. of E. v. i. 332. 

51. Cries ^ come^ etc. The editors naturally refer to Pope, The 
Dying Christian to his Soul : — 

" Hark ! they whisper; angels say 
' Sister spirit, come away' " 

Pope repeats the thought in Eloisa to Abelard : — 

" ' Come, sister, come,' it said, or seemed to say, ' 

' Thy place is here, sad sister, come away.' " 

53. Rain, to lay this wind, etc. Malone quotes R. of L. 1788 : — 

" This windy tempest, till it blow up rain. 
Held back his sorrow's tide, to make it more ; 
At last it rains, and busy winds give o'er." 

See also Macb. i. 7. 25. 

56. The merry Greeks. See on i. 2. 1 14 above. 

57. When shall we see again? The same question is found in 
Cymb. i. i. 124. See also Hen. VIII. \. i. 2 : "Since last we saw 
in France." 

58. Be thou but true of heart. Knight remarks : "The parting 
of Troilus and Cressida was very beautifully told by Chaucer ; but 
as Shakspere's conception of the character of Cressida is altogether 
different from that of Chaucer, we see little iii the scene before us 
to make us believe that Cressida will keep her vows. In the elder 
poet she manifests a loftiness of character which ought to have pre- 
served her faith. Shakspere has made her consistent : — 



Scene IV] Notes 25 T 

' And o'er all this, I pray you, quod she tho.l 
Mine owne heartes sothfast suffisance ! 
Sith I am thine all whole withouten mo, 
That while that I am absent, no pleasance 
Of other do me from your remembrance, 
For I am e'er aghast ; for why ? men rede 3 
That love is thing aye full of busy drede. 

' For in this world there liveth lady none, 
If that ye were untrue, as God defend ! 
That so betrayed were or woe begone 
As I, that alle truth in you intend : 
And doubteless, if that I other ween'd, 
I n'ere but dead, and ere ye cause yfind, 
. For Goddes love, so be me nought unkind. 

' To this answered Troilus, and said, 
Now God, to whom there is no cause awry, 
. Me glad, as wis I never to Cressid, 
Sith thilke day I saw her first with eye, 
Was false, nor ever shall till that I die : 
At short wordes, well ye may me believe, 
I can no more ; it shall be found at preve,3 

' Grand mercy, good heart mine ! iwis, (quod she,) 
And, blissful Venus ! let me never sterve ^ 
Ere I may stand of pleasance in degree 
To quite him well that so well can deserve ; 
And while that God my wit will me conserve 
I shall so do, so true I have you found, 
That aye honour to me-ward shall rebound : 

' Fdr trusteth well that your estate roydl, 
Nor vain delight, nor only worthiness 
Of you in war or tourney martial, 
Nor pomp, array, nobley,5 or eke richess, 
Ne maden me to rue on your distress, 

1 Then. 2 Say. 8 Proof. 4 Die. 5 Nobility, 



2^2 Notes [Act IV 

But moral virtue, grounded upon truth ; — 
That was the cause I first had on you ruth : 

' Eke gentle heart, and manhood that ye had. 
And that ye had (as me thought) in despite 
Every thing that souned into i bad, 
As rudeness, and peoplish 2 appetite, 
And that your reason bridled your delight ; 
This made aboven every creature 
That I was yours, and shall while I may dure.' " 

59. Deem. Surmise, thought ; the only instance of the noun 
in S. 

63. Throw my glove to Death himself. "I will challenge Death 
himself in defence of thy fidelity " (Johnson) . 

64. Maculation. Stain of inconstancy ; used by S. only here, 
as maculate only in Z. Z. Z. i. 2. 97. 

65. To fashion in, etc. As an introduction to the promise that 
follows. Schmidt defines fashion as " to contrive to put in or 
insert. " 

70. Wear this sleeve. Hall, in his Chronicle, refers to the cus- 
tom of wearing a lady's sleeve or glove as a favour : " One ware 
on his head-piece his lady's sleeve, and another bare on his helme 
the glove of his deareling." So Drayton, Barons' Wars: "A 
lady's sleeve high-spirited Hastings wore," etc. Malone remarks 
that the sleeve which Troilus here gives Cressida may be " an orna- 
mented cuff, such perhaps as was worn by some of the young 
nobility at a tilt." She afterwards (v. 2. 66 below) gives it to 
Diomed. 

75-78. Hear why . . . exercise. The quarto reads : — 

" Here why I speake it loue, 
The Grecian youths are full of quality, 
And swelling ore with arts and exercise." 

1 Verged towards. 2 Vulgar. 



Scene IV] Notes 253 

The folio has : — 

" Heare why I speake it ; Lone : 
The Grecian youths are full of qualitie, 
Their louing well compos'd, with guift of nature, 
Flawing and swelling ore with Arts and exercise : " 

It would take too much space to give the readings of the leading 
editors, which fill a page in the Cambridge ed. Knight and Ver- 
planck follow the folio closely (except in punctuation, and " Flow- 
ing" for "Flawing" ), and the former explains lines 77, 78 thus : 
" their loving is well composed with the gift of nature, which gift 
( natural quality) is flowing, and swelling over, with arts and exer- 
cise." White reads : — 

" They 're loving, well compos'd with gifts of nature, 
Flowing and swelling o'er with arts and exercise." 

The reading in the text is from Staunton, and is adopted by the 
Cambridge editors, who remark that " the word ' Flowing ' was in 
all probability a marginal correction for ' swelling,' which the printer 
of the folio by mistake added to the line." 

76. Full of quality. "Highly accomplished" (Steevens). Cf. 
Chapman, Iliad: "he was well qualitied." 

79. Novelty . . . person. The quarto has " novelty . . . por- 
tion." Person = personal appearance, comeliness. 

86. Lavolt. The lavolta, a dance in which there was much lofty 
capering. Cf. Hen. V . iii. 5. 33. 

88. Pregnant. Ready; as often. Cf. Lear, ii. I. 78, iv. 6. 
227, etc. 

97. Their changeful potency. Their inconstant or uncertain 
power. The expression is perfectly in keeping with the frailty of 
our powers in the preceding line ; but changes have been made by 
the editors. Presuming on = presuming too much upon, Cf. 
Rich. II. ii. I. 116: "Presuming on an ague's privilege," etc. 

103. Whiles others fish, etc. " While others, by their art, gain 



254' Notes [Act IV 

high estimatioin, I, by honesty, obtain a plain, simple approbatiu'n " 
(Johnson). 

107. Moral. Meaning. Cf. T. of S. iv. 4. 79 : "to expound 
the meaning or moral of his signs and tokens." 

111. Port. Gate. Cf. Cor. i. 7. i, v. 6. 6, etc. 

112. Possess. Inform ; as in M. of V. i. 3. 65 : — 

" Is he yet possess'd 
How much ye would ? " etc. 

113. Entreat her fair. Treat her well. Cf. Rich. III. iv. 4. 151 : 
"entreat me fair," etc. See also Genesis, xii. 16, Jeremiah, xv. 
II, etc. 

122. Zeal. The early eds. have "seale" or "seal; " corrected 
by Theobald. 

132. / '// answer to my lust. I '11 do as I please ; not, as some 
explain it, I '11 answer you as I please. Lust = pleasure ; as in 
P. of L. 1384 : "Gazing upon the Greeks with little lust." 

133. On charge. At your orders; "on compulsion," as Falstaff 
put it (i Hen. IV. ii. 4. 263). 

136. / 7/ tell thee. Capell reads " I tell thee ; " but cf. K. John, 
V. 6. 39, Hen. V.\. i. i, etc. 

137. Brave. Bravado, bullying. Cf. T. of S. iii. i. 15: "I will 
not bear these braves of thine." 

144. Let us make ready straight. The folio gives this speech to 
" Dio. y " corrected by Malone. 

144-148. The last five lines of the scene are not in the quarto. 
146. Address. Prepare, make ready. Cf. v. 10. 14 below. 

Scene V. — i. Appointment. Equipment ; as in Ham, iv. 6. 16 : 
" a pirate of very warlike appointment," etc. 

6. Hale. Haul, draw. Cf. Much Ado, ii. 3. 62, T. N. iii. 2. 
64, etc. Trumpet = trumpeter. See on i. 3. 256 above. 

8. Sphered bias cheek. That is, rounded like a bowl on the 
biassed or weighted side. Mr. Verity notes the frequency of allu- 



Scene V] Notes 255 

sions in the dramatists to bowls, a game at which churchwardens 
s^eem to have been peculiarly proficient. An exact parallel to the 
present line occurs in Webster's Vittoria Coroinbona, i, : " That 
nobleman Corib ! faith his cheek hath a most excellent bias ; it would 
fain jump with my mistress.''^ Steevens thinks that, in the present 
passage, *' the idea is taken from the puffy cheeks of the winds as 
represented in old prints and maps." The bias of a bowl is the 
weight of lead inserted in one side of it, causing the bowl to twist in 
its course towards that side. If the bowl is held with the bias on the 
outer side, it will run with an outward curve ; if on the inside, it 
will " twist in." Bowling-greens are still kept up and in constant 
use in villages in Warwickshire and other parts of England. I 
have often watched the play of a summer evening at Stratford 
and Warwick. See on iii. 2. 49 above ; and cf. T. of S. iv. 5. 25, 
Rich. II. iii. 4. 5, Ham. ii. I. 65, etc. 

9. Colic. For the figure, cf. I Hen. IV. iii. i. 29 fol. Aquilon, 
like Boreas (i. 3. 38 above), is a classical name for the north 
wind. 

13. Yond. Yonder ; but not a contraction of that word, as often 
printed. The folio misprints " yong." 

14. Ken. Recognize in the distance. Cf. 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. loi : 
" As far as I could ken thy chalky cliffs." 

20. Particular. Ulysses plays upon particular (= personal, 
individual) d^ndi general, as Cade does in 2 Hen. VI. iv. 2. 119. 

26. Argument. The play upon the various senses of the word 
is obvious. 

2^. Hardiment. Hardihood, boldness. Cf. Cymb. v. 4. 75 and 
I Hen. IV. i. 3. loi. The next line is omitted in the folio. 

29. Thus. Here of course he kisses her ; and to this he refers 
in 32 as Menelaus' kiss. 

31. Horns. The old much-worn joke of the cuckold's horns. 
Cf. i. I. 117 above. 

37. / '// fmake my match to live. I '11 wager my life. Johnson 
explained it thus : " I will make such bargains as I may live by, 



256 Notes [Act IV 

such as may bring nie profit, therefore will not take a worse kiss 
than I give." 

46. Your nail. That is, your finger-nail as used va filliping him 
on the head. 

57. Motive. " Part that contributes to motion " (Johnson) . The 
word sometimes means instrument ; as in A. W. iv. 4. 20, Rich. II. 
i. I. I93» etc. 

58. Encounterers. Those who meet the advances of another 
halfway. 

59. Coasting. Sidelong, alluring. Some read " accosting " (the 
conjecture of Theobald). It is a close question between the two. 
The antecedent of it is implied in encounterers, and = amorous 
advances. Cf. the use of encounter in M. W. iii. 5. 74, etc. 

60. Tables. Tablets, note-book. Cf. Ham. i. 5. 107, etc. 

61. Ticklish. Prurient. The folio has " tickling." 

62. Sluttish spoils of opportunity. " Corrupt wenches, of whose 
chastity every opportunity may make a prey" (Johnson). 

65. You state. The quarto has "the state," Cf. i. 3. 191 and 
ii. 3. 262 above. 

Steevens remarks that what shall be done, etc., is Scriptural 
phraseology, and quotes I Samuel, xvii. 26, 

68. To the edge of all extremity. To the uttermost, a outrance. 

73. Securely. Carelessly, confidently. Cf. secure in ii. 2. 15 
above. The early eds. give the speech to " Aga. ; " but the reply 
shows that it belongs to ^neas. 

79. Valour and pride, etc. " Valour (says ^Eneas) is in Hector 
greater than valour in other men, and pride in Hector is less than 
pride in other men. So that Hector is distinguished by the excel- 
lence of having pride less than others' pride, and valour more than 
others' valour" (Johnson). 

83. This Ajax, etc. Ajax and Hector were cousins. Cf. 120 
below. 

87. Maiden battle. Bloodless contest, like that of novices ; not 
"a gory emulation" (123). 



Scene V] Notes 257 

90. Consent Agree ; as often. 

92. A breath. An exercise. Cf. ii. 3. 113 above. 

98. Speaking in deeds, etc. Letting his deeds speak for him, 
not boasting of them himself. 

103. Impair. Unsuitable, unworthy. The folios have "im- 
paire " or " impair," and the quarto " impare." Capell reads 
" impar," and Dyce adopts Johnson's conjecture of "impure," a 
word which seems not at all in place here. Impair probably rep- 
resents the Latin impar. Steevens cites Chapman, Shield of 
Homer, preface : " Nor is it more impaire to an honest and abso- 
lute man," etc. ; where, however, it seems to be a noun. Johnson 
paraphrases an impair thought by " a thought unsuitable to the 
dignity of his character." Some would derive impair from the 
Latin i}?iparatus, unprepared, unready ; and others would connect 
it with the verb and noun impair, and make it = impairing, injuri- 
ous, or detractive. The Cambridge editors remark : " Although we 
have not been able to find any other instance of impair as an 
adjective, we have retained it ; for . . . etymologically impair 
may have the sense of unsuitable, unequal to the theme. . . . Int- 
pure, though plausible, is not entirely satisfactory, as it is Troilus's 
ripeness of judgment and not his modesty which is the subject of 
praise." 

105. Subscribes To tender objects. Yields to occasions of tender- 
ness. For subscribes, cf. T. of S.\. \.%i'. "Sir, to your pleasure 
humbly I subscribe," etc. 

107. Vindicative. Vindictive ; used by S. only here. Vindic- 
tive he does not use at all. 

109. As fairly built as Hector. Ellipses after as are common. 

111. Even to his inches. That is, minutely, even to the smallest 
details of his character. Cf. ii. i. 51 above. With private soul =::■ 
confidentially. 

112. Translate. Interpret ; as in Ham. iv. i. 2, etc. 

120. Thou art, great lord, my father'' s sister'' s son, etc. This 
incident is thus related byCaxton: "As they were fighting, they 

TROILUS — 17 



258 Notes [Act IV 

spake and talked together, and thereby Hector knew that he was 
his cousin-german, son uf his aunt : and then Hector, for courtesy, 
embraced him in his arms, and made great cheer, and offered to 
him to do all his pleasure, if he desired any thing of him, and 
prayed him that he would come to Troy with him for to see his 
lineage of his mother's side : but the said Thelamon, that intended 
to nothing but to his best advantage, said that he would not go at 
this time. But he prayed Hector, requesting that, if he loved him 
so much as he said, that he would for his sake, and at his instance, 
cease the battle for that day, and that the Troyans should leave the 
Greeks in peace. The unhappy Hector accorded unto him his 
request, and blew a horn, and made all his people to withdraw 
into the city." 

128. Sinister o Accented on the second syllable, as elsewhere 
in S. 

129, Multipotent. Almighty ; used by S. only here. 

131. Impressure. Impression. S. generally uses zV;z/r(?^i'/(7«, but 
impressure occurs in A, Y. L. iii. 5. 23 and T. N. ii. 5. 103. Cf. 
expressiire in iii. 3. 204 above. 

134. Aly sacred aunt. Steevens believes that this use of sacred 
was suggested by the Grecism (for which he cites Vaillant) of giv- 
mg the uncle the title of Qetos (godlike, divine). The word is very 
often used by S. as an epithet of royalty. 

139. Freeo Generous, noble. Cf. i. 3. 235 above. 

141. Addition. Title. See on i. 2. 20 above. 

142. Mirable. Admirable (Latin mirabilis'); used by S. only 
here, and perhaps of his own coining. 

As Malone remarks, the reference here seems to be to Achilles, 
and not to his son Neoptolemus, who had not yet distinguished 
himself. Johnson suggests that, as S. knew the son to be called 
Pyrrhus Neoptolemus, he " considered Neoptolemus as the nomen 
gentilitium, and thought the father was likewise Achilles Neoptole- 
mus," Pyrrhus cannot be meant, for, as Steevens notes, he has 
been mentioned in iii. 3. 209 above as " now at home ; " but the 



Scene V] Notes 259 

mistake here is probably the poet's, and not the printer's. Various 
emendations have been adopted. 

143. Oyes. Hear ye (Fr. oyez) ; the crier's call at the opening 
of a court. Cf. M. W. v. 5. 45 : "Crier Hobgoblin, make the fairy 
oyes." 

148. Embracement. Used by S. oftener than embrace. 

150. Seld. Seldom. Cf. P. P. 175 : " seld or never found ; " and 
"seld-shown" in Cor. ii. I. 229. 

159, Great Aga7)iemnon comes, etc. Before this speech the folio 
has '^ Enter Agamemnon and the rest;'''' but they are already on 
the stage. As White suggests, the front of the stage vi^as probably 
occupied by the lists, and during the combat "Agamemnon and 
the rest " remained in the inner or second apartment of the stage, 
which was sometimes shut off by a curtain. At this point they 
"come forward," as Rowe's stage-direction requires. Capell has 
" Chiefs enter the lists" 

165-170. But . . . integrity. These lines are not in the quarto. 

169. Bias-drawing. Turning awry, like the bowl v\ith its bias 
or weight on one side. Cf. T. iV. v. i. 267: "Nature to her bias 
drew in that ; " K. John, ii. I. 577 : " this vile-drawing bias," etc. 
See also on 8 above. 

171. From, heart of very heart. From my inmost heart. 
Steevens quotes Ham. iii. 2. 78 : " In my heart's core, ay, in my 
heart of heart." 

172. Imperious. Often = i?nperiaL Cf. Ha?n. v. i. 236, A. 
and C. iv. 15. 23, etc. 

176. Who. The reading of the quarto and 1st folio, changed 
in the 2d folio to "Whom." See on iii. i. 23 above. 

177. Mars his gauntlet. Cf. i Hen. VI. i. 2. i : "Mars his 
true moving," etc. See also ii. i. 56 above, and 255 and v. 2. 165 
below. 

178. Untraded. Unhackneyed ; used by S. only here. 

184. Labouring for destiny. "The vicegerent of Fate" 
(Malone). 



26o Notes [Act IV 

187. Subduements. Conquests ; used by S. nowhere else. 
For Despising many the folio has " And seene thee scorning." 

188. Hung thy advanced sword. Checked thy uplifted sword. 
For the use of hung, cf. 2 Hen. IV. iv. i. 213 : — 

" And hangs resolv'd correction in the arm 
That was uprear'd to execution." 

and for advanced, see Cor. i. 6. 61, ii. i. 178, etc. 

189. Decline on the declined. Descend on the fallen. Cf. Ham. 
ii. 2. 500 : — 

"for, lo ! his sword, 
Which was declining on the milky head 
Of reverend Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick." 

196. Thy grandsire. Laomedon, the father of Priam. 

206. As they, etc. The line is not in the quarto. 

213. Favour. Face. See on i. 2. 96 above. 

220. Buss. Kiss. In K. John, iii. 4. 35, Pope changed the 
word to " kiss," but buss was not vulgar in the time of S. On the 
figure here, cf. R. of L. 1370 : "Threatening cloud-kissing Ilion 
with annoy." 

224. The end crowns all. " Finis coronat opus." Cf. A. W. iv. 

4- 35- 

230. Thou ! Changed by the editors to " now," " there," and 

" then ; " but this use of the pronoun is not rare in S.; and, as 

Clarke remarks, here it has characteristic effect : " it includes a 

dash of insolence, a dash of off-hand freedom, and a dash of half 

compliment, as though he had said, * I shall forestall thee, Lord 

Ulysses, even thou I '" Cf. v. i. 26, 34 below. 

232. Exact. Accented on the first syllable, as in i Hen. IV. iv. 
I. 46. For the reason, see on complete, iii. 3. 181 above. 

233. Quoted. Noted, marked. Cf. Ham. ii. i. 112 and R. and 
J. i. 4. 31. 

242. Tell me, you heavens, etc. Knight remarks : "It was a 
fine stroke of art in Shakspere to borrow the Homeric incident of 



Scene V] Notes 261 

Achilles surveying Hector before he slew him, not using it in the 
actual scene of the conflict, but more characteristically in the place 
which he has given it. The passage of Homer is thus rendered 
by Chapman : 

' His bright and sparkling eyes 
Look'd through the body of his foe, and sought through all that prize 
The next way to his thirsted life. Of all ways, only one 
Appear'd to him ; and this was, where th' unequal winding bone 
That joins the shoulders and the neck had place, and where there lay 
The speeding way to death : and there his quick eye could display 
The place it sought, — even through those arms his friend Patroclus wore 
When Hector slew him.' " 

250. Prenominate. Cf. Ham. ii. i. 43 : " the prenominate 
crimes." Nice = precise, critical. 

255. Stithied. Forged ; the only instance of the verb in S. 
The noun stithy (quarto) or stith (folio) occurs in Ham, iii. 2. 89. 

260. Chafe thee. Let yourself become chafed, or angry. Cf. 
Hen. VIII. i. i. 123 : " What, are you chaf'd ?" 

264. Stomach. Inclination, appetite ; with perhaps a reference 
to the other sense of courage. Ajax treats Achilles with contempt, 
and means to insinuate that he is afraid of fighting with Hector. 

265. To be odd with him. That is, to be at odds with him, 
contend with him. 

267. Pelting. Paltry, petty. Cf. M. N. D.\\. \.^\, Lear, ii. 3. 
18, etc. 

272. Convive we. Let us feast ; the only instance of convive in 
S. CojiviviaDie. does not use at all. In the full = all together; 
not ''to the full." 

274. Severally entreat him. Separately invite or entertain him. 

275. Tabourines. Drums. Cf. A. and C. iv. 8. 37 : " our 
rattling tabourines." For Beat loud the tabourines the quarto 
has " To taste your bounties." 

278. Keep. Dwell, reside. Cf. Ham. ii. i. 8, etc. 




A Phrygian (from AxNtique Bronze) 

ACT V 

Scene I. — 4. Core. Ulcer. Cf. ii. i. 6 above. 

5. Crusty batch. A crusty loaf, and equivalent to cobloaf in ii. 
I. y) above. 

8. Fragment. For the contemptuous use, cf. Cor. i. i. 226 : 
" Go, get you home, you fragments ! " Here there may be a 
reference to the deformed figure of Thersites, who, like Richard, 
was " unfinish'd . . . half made up." 

ID, Tent. In the reply there is a play upon the sense of a 
surgeon's probe. Cf. ii. 2. 16 above. 

13. Adversity': Steevens suggests that this is = contrariety, or 
being adverse. 

16,17. Varlet. Apparently sometimes = harlot. Farmer quotes 
Dekker, Honest Whore : " 't is a male varlet sure, my lord ! " 
where the person spoken of is a harlot who is introduced in boy's 
clothes. In both lines the quarto and the first three folios have 
" varlot," which the 4th folio changes to varlet. Theobald has 
" harlot," which is adopted by many editors ; but harlot would not 
seem to require the explanation which Patroclus asks, as the less 

262 



Scene I] Notes 263 

familiar varlet might. Schmidt believes that varlot is " a kind of 
hermaphroditical form between varlet ^.n.^ harlotP 

21-24. Rd"^ £y<^s • ' ' tetter. The folio omits this much of the 
catalogue, substituting " and the like." 

22. Imposthume. Collection of purulent matter. Cf. Ham. iv. 
4. 27 and V. and A. 743. 

Limekilns ?"' the palm. The reference is to the gout, " one 
phase of which is to have hard vi^hite lumps in the joints and 
knuckles of the fingers and hands that are commonly known as 
chalk-stones^ 

23. Rivelled. Wrinkled ; used by S. only here. 

25. Discoveries. As Schmidt notes, " there may be a play on 
the sense of uncovering." Lettsom quotes Isaiah, Ivii. 8. " De- 
baucheries," "discoverers," and " discolourers " have been pro- 
posed. 

30. Indistinguishable. Apparently referring to his deformity. 

31. Exasperate. For the form, cf. suffocate in i. 3. 125 above. 
Idle = useless, good-for-nothing ; as often. 

32. Sleave-silk. Raw silk. Cf. sleave in Macb. ii. 2. 37. 

35. Waterjlies. For the contemptuous use, cf. Ham. v. 2. 84 : 
" Dost know this waterfly ? " Diminutives = dwarfs, or insignifi- 
cant things. Cf. A. and C. iv. 12. 37. 

37. Finch-egg ! Cf. L. L. L. v. i. 78 : "thou pigeon-egg of 
discretion ! " and Macb. iv. 2. 83 : " What, you egg ! " 

42. Gaging. Engaging, binding. Cf. I Hen. IV, i. 3. 173. 

53. Quails. A cant term for loose women. Clarke thinks the 
reference may be only to the practice of matching quails against 
one another, like cocks nowadays. Cf. A. and C. ii. 3. 37. 

54. Transformation of Jupiter. Alluding to the story of Europa. 
Cf. M. ^. V. 5. 4 : " Remember, Jove, thou wast a bull for thy 
Europa; love set on thy horns." Hudson remarks that "the 
passage looks as if S. supposed that the ancient ascription of horns 
to a dishonoured husband grew from the exploit of Jupiter ; " and 
adds that " Europa was a maiden " at the time. I see no reason 



264 Notes [Act V 

for assuming that S. had any such notion. The transformation 
of Jupiter is merely a jocose periphrasis for the bull, and the bull 
is the memorial of cuckolds simply because he has horns. Cf. 
Much Ado, i. I. 264, v. 4. 44, etc. 

56. Oblique. Perhaps = indirect, as Steevens explains it. This 
is at least not so bad as Malone's conjecture that it refers to " the 
bull's horns being crooked or oblique.''^ Shoeing-horn = a sub- 
servient tool ; with the old joke on horn. 

59. Forced. "Farced" (Pope's reading), or stuffed. See on 
ii. 3. 224 above. 

62. Fitcheiu. Polecat. Cf. 0th. iv. i. 150 ; the only other in- 
stance of the word in S. The quarto has here " a day, a Moyle, 
a Cat, a Fichooke." 

63. Puttock. A kite, or an inferior kind of hawk. Cf. Cymb. 
i. I. 140. 

A herring without a roe, Cf. R. and J. ii. 4. 39 : " Without his 
roe, like a dried herring." The expression was proverbial. 

67. Lazar. Leper. Cf. ii. 3. 34 above. 

Hey-day. " Hoy-day " in the folio, as in some other passages. 

68. Spirits and fires ! " This Thersites speaks upon the first 
sight of the distant lights" (Johnson). 

77. Draught. Privy. Cf. T. of A. v. I. 105 ; and see also 
2 Kings, X. 27. 

84. Tide. The fit time. It is probably a metaphor, not an 
instance of tide=- time, as in K. John, iii. i. 86, etc. 

92. Spend his mouth. Bark ; as in V. and A. 695 : " Then do 
they spend their mouths ; " and Hen. V. ii. 4. 70 : — 

" coward dogs 
Most spend their mouths when what they seem to threaten 
Runs far before them ; " 

which well illustrates the present passage. " If a hound gives his 
mouth, and is not upon the scent of the game, he is by sportsmen 
called a babbler or brabbler. The proverb says, ' Brabbling curs 
never want sore ears ' " ( Variorum of 1821). 



Scene II] Notes 265 

94. Prodigious. That is, something so rare as to be esteemed 
z. prodigy ; the only meaning of the word in S. 

96. Leave to see. Give up seeing. Cf. iii. 3. 133 above. 

99. Varlets. Here the quarto has " varlots." See on 16 above. 

Scene II. — 11. Cliff. Clef, or key. Cf. T. of S. iii. i. 77 : 
"one clef, \.^NO notes," etc. 

18. Sweet honey Greek. Cf. Hen. IV. i. 2. 179 : "my good 
sweet honey lord," etc. 

41. Flow to. Are hastening to, fast inclining to. 

48. Palter. Shuffle, equivocate. See on ii. 3. 235 above. 

55. Luxury. Lust ; the only meaning in S. 

56. Potato -finger. The sweet potato, according to the old 
writers, was provocative of lust. Cf. M. W. v. 5. 21 (where it 
has the same meaning), the only other reference to potatoes 
in S. 

66. Sleeve. See on iv. 4. 70 above. 

81. Nay, do not snatch it from me. The early eds. give this to 
^^ Dio.;" corrected by Theobald. He conjectured, however, that 
As I kiss thee should be Diomed's, with the stage-direction, " Dio- 
mede, kissing her, offers to snatch the sleeve T 

91. Diana^ s waiting-women. " The stars, which she points to " 
(Warburton). Cf. R. of L. 785 : — 

" Were Tarquin Night, as he is but Night's child, 
The silver-shining queen he would disdain ; 
Her twinkling handmaids too, by him defil'd. 
Through Night's black bosom should not peep again." 

Steevens quotes Milton, Elegy, i. 77 : — 

" caelo scintillant astra sereno 
Endymioneae turba ministra deae." 

102. Likes not yon. Does not please you. Cf. Ham. v. 2. 276 : 
" this likes me well," etc. 

108. Ah, poor our sex ! Like good -my lord, etc. Mr. Verity 
remarks : " This, it will be noticed, is the last speech that Cressidjt 



266 Notes [Act V 

makes ; henceforth she passes out of the play, and, but for a 
scornful reference, is forgotten. This did not suit Dryden's taste ; 
a guilty heroine unpunished in the fifth act was an anomaly in 
Restoration tragedy, and accordingly the denouement in his version 
is contrived on more orthodox lines. Troilus overcomes Diomede, 
and is on the point of killing him, when Cressida enters and inter- 
poses. She pleads for Diomede's life, protests innocence, is re- 
proached and repelled by Troilus, and then to clear herself of guilt 
produces the inevitable dagger : — 

' Enough, my lord ; you've said enough. 
The faithless, perjured, hated Cressida 
Shall be no more the subject of your curses. 
Some few hours hence, and grief had done your work ; 
But then your eyes had missed the satisfaction 
Which thus I give you — thus — {She stabs herself.' 

A slight dialogue follows ; the heroine blesses her lover * with her 
latest breath,' and dies ; and afterwards ' the dragnet of death,' to 
employ a phrase of Mr. Swinburne's, gathers in its meshes most 
of the remaining characters. Dramatically, such a catastrophe is 
effective enough ; a heroine dying, after the manner of Otway's 
Monimia, with innocence and love on her lips, can never fail of 
pathos ; but, after all, it is but a stage-artifice, and inappropriate 
here, because nothing could win our sympathies for Cressida. Scott 
rightly censures Dryden's perversion of Shakespeare's design 
{^Dry den's Works, Vol. VI. p. 228)." 

113. A proof of strength, etc. " She could not publish a stronger 
proof" (Johnson). 

116. Make a recordation to my soul. Fix in my memory. 
Cf. 2 Hen. IV. ii. 3. 61 : "For recordation to my noble husband." 

120. Sith. See on i. 3. 13 above. Credence ^= con'a^^ViC^ ; as 
xnA. W. i. 2. II, iii. 3. 2, the only other instances of the word in S. 

121. Esperance. Hope. Cf. Lear, iv. i. 4. It was the motto 
of the Percies. Cf. i Hen. IV. ii. 3. 74, etc. 

122. The attest. The folio has " that test." 



Scene iij Notes 267 

123. Deceptious. Deceiving, delusive ; used by S. only here. 
125. I cannot conjure. "That is, I cannot raise spirits in the 
form of Cressida " (Johnson). 

131. Critics. Carpers ; the only sense in S. Cf. L. L. L. iii. 
I. 178 and Sonn. 112. 10. 

132. Depravation. Detraction ; the only instance of the noun 
in S. For deprave = detract, see Much Ado, v. I. 95. 

Sqtiare. Measure by, adjust to. Cf. M. for M. v. i. 487, 
A. W. ii. I. 153, W. T. V. I. 52, etc. See also on unsquared, i. 
5. 159 above. 

142. If there be rule in unity itself. " If there be certainty in 
unity, if there be a rule that one is one " (Johnson) ; that is, if 
it be a rule that one is not two, that Cressida is not two wholly 
different persons. 

143. Discourse. Reasoning. Cf. ii. 2. 116 and ii. 3. 175 above. 

144. That cause sets up, etc. " In which a man reasons for and 
against himself upon authority which he knows not to be valid " 
(Johnson). 

145. Bifold. The quarto has " By-fould," and the foHo " By 
foule," which some editors prefer. 

Where reason can revolt, etc. Where reason can rebel without 
loss of reason, and lost reason can assume to be reasonable without 
rebellion against itself. For perdition = loss, cf. /len. V. iii. 6. 
103, etc. 

148. There doth conduce a fight. A battle is joined, the oppos- 
ing forces are brought together. Conduce seems to be used in 
its etymological sense ; but there may be some corruption. 

149. Inseparate. Inseparable, indivisible ; not found elsewhere 
in S. 

150. More wider. See on ii. 2. ii above, and cf. v. 6. 20 below. 
152. Orifex. " Orifice," which is the reading of the later folios. 

151. Ariachne's. The folio has '• Ariachnes," the quarto " Ari- 
achna's" (" Ariathna's " in Steevens's copy in the British Museum). 
The allusion is to Arachne, and some editors "correct" the word 



268 Notes [Act V 

accordingly, to the injury of the metre. Others assume that S. con- 
founded Arachne and Ariadne, and the web of the former with the 
clue of the latter. Steevens shows that other writers confused the 
two. As Dr. Ingleby (^Sk. Hermeneutics, p. 65) remarks : "The 
point is of no moment. What is of moment for us to see is that 
by Ariachne S. meant the spider into which Arachne was trans- 
formed, and which in Greek bears the same name ; and that the 
woof he meant was finer than was ever produced by human hand, 
namely, the woof of the spider's web — those delicate transverse 
filaments which cross the main radial threads or wai'ps, and which 
are perhaps the nearest material approach to mathematical lines. 
Thus has S. in one beautiful allusion wrapt up in two or three little 
words the w^hole story of Arachne's metamorphosis, the physical 
fact of the fineness of the woof-filaments of a spider's web, and an 
antithesis, effective in the highest degree, to the vastness of the 
yawning space between earth and heaven. For what orifice could 
be imagined more exquisitely minute than the needle's eye which 
would not admit the spider's web to thread it ! " 

154. Instance. Proof. Cf. Muck Ado, ii. 2. 42, etc. 

158. Five-finger-tied. "Tied by giving her hand to Diomed " 
(Johnson). 

159. The fractions of her faith. The remnants of her broken 
faith. 

161. e'er-eaten. " Eaten and begnawn on all sides " (Schmidt). 
Malone thinks it is = which she has thrown up, like one who has 
overeaten ; and he compares 2 Hen. IV. i. 3. 87 fol. 

162. May worthy Troilus, etc. " Can Troilus really feel, on this 
occasion, half of what he utters ? A question suitable to the calm 
Ulysses " (Johnson). For attached with = affected by, cf. Temp. 
iii. 3. 5 : " attach'd with weariness," etc. 

165. Mars his heart. See on ii. I. 56 above. 

166. Fancy. Love. Cf. the noun in iv. 4. 25 above. 

173. Hurricano. Water-spout. See Lear^ iii. 2. 2, the only 
other instance of the word in S. 



Scene II] NoteS 269 

174. Sun. The folio has " Fenne," and Rowe "finger." Con- 
string' d (= contracted) is used by S. only here. 

176. His. Its ; as often. Cf. i. 3. 210, 354, ii. 2. 54, etc., above. 

178. HeHl tickle it, etc. The meaning may be, he'll tickle him 
(Diomed) for his concupiscence : tickle being used ironically, as 
in T. TV. V. I. 198 and i Hen. IV. ii. 4. 189 ; while it is used con- 
temptuously for kim (the following his being = its'), as it is play- 
fully for her in iv. 2. 35 above. Schmidt takes tickle it to be used 
like lord it, foot it, etc. We find it so used in Two Noble Kins- 
men, ii. 3. 27 : "I '11 tickle 't out Of the jades' tails to-morrow ! " 
Concupy is used by S. only here ; concupiscence not at all. Con- 
cupiscible (= lustful) occurs in M. for M. v. I. 98. 

188. Wear a castle on thy head. That is, defend it with more 
than common armour (Steevens). It is said that a certain kind of 
helmet was called a castle, but here the word is plainly a metaphor. 

194. The parrot, etc. A proverbial expression. Verity quotes 
Skelton, Speke, Parrot, stanza i : — 

" And sen me to greate ladyes of estate ; 
Then Parrot must have an almon or a date." 

So later in same poem : — 

" An Almon now for Parrot delycatly drest." 

Scene III. — 4, Train. Draw, tempt ; as in C. of E. ill. 2. 45, 
K.John, iii. 4. 175, etc. 

6. Aly dreams, ttc. Knight remarks : " Chaucer has mentioned 
the presaging dreams of Andromache in the Canterbury Tales. 
We find the same relation in The Destruction of Troy : — 

" ' Andromeda saw that night a marvellous vision, and her seemed 
if Hector went that day to the battle he should be slain. And she^ 
that had great fear and dread of her husband, weeping, said to 
him, praying that he would not go to the battle that day : whereof 
Hector blamed his wife, saying that she should not believe nor 
give faith to dreams, and would not abide nor tarry therefore. 



I'jo Notes [Act V 

When it was in the morning, Andromeda went to the King Pria- 
mus and to the queen, and told to them the verity of her vision ; 
and prayed them with all her heart that they would do so much at 
her request as to dissuade Hector, that he should not in any wise 
that day go the battle, etc. It happened that day was fair and 
clear, and the Troyans armed them, and Troylus issued first into 
the battle ; after him ^Eneas. . . . And the King Priamus sent to 
Hector that he should keep him well that day from going to battle. 
Wherefore Hector was angry, and said to his wife many reproach- 
ful words, as that he knew well that his commandment came by 
her request ; yet, notwithstanding the forbidding, he armed him. 
... At this instant came the Queen Hecuba, and the Queen 
Helen, and the sisters of Hector, and they humbled themselves and 
kneeled down presently before his feet, and prayed and desired 
him with weeping tears that he would do off his harness, and un- 
arm him, and come with them into the hall : but never would he 
do it for their prayers, but descended from the palace thus armed 
as he was, and took his horse, and would have gone to battle. But 
at the request of Andromeda the King Priamus came running anon, 
and took him by the bridle, and said to him so many things of one 
and other, that he made him to return, but in no wise he would be 
made to unarm him.' " 

9. Dear. Earnest. Cf. iv. 4. 37 above. Consort — join ; as in 
M. N. D. iii. 2. 387, R. and J. iii. i. 48, etc. 

16. Peevish. Foolish ; as often. 

20, To hurt by being just. To do injury by being true to your 
word. Cf. K.John, iii. i. 272 : — 

" where doing tends to ill 
The truth is then most done, not doing it." 

In the folio (lines 20-22 are not in the quarto) the passage reads 
thus : — 

" And O be perswaded, doe not count it holy. 
To hurt by being iust ; it is as lawfull : 



Scene III] Notes 0.yi 

For we would count giue much to as violent thetts, 
And rob in the behalfe of charitie." 

This is obviously corrupt, and many have been the attempts a 
emendation. Tyrw^hitt suggested : — 

" it is as lawful, 
For we would give much, to use violent thefts," etc. ; 

and this reading is adopted by the Cambridge editors and others. 
It assumes that coun^ was accidentally repeated and that " as " is a 
misprint for use — both easy errors. The expression use thefts has 
been objected to, but Dyce cites Middleton, Women beivare 
IVomen: "Is it enough to use adulterous thefts," etc. Hudson 
criticises the measure of the hne, but violent is often a dissyllable 
in S. Cf. A. W. iii. 2. 112 : "That ride upon the violent speed of 
fire ; " Mach. iv. 2. 21 : " But float upon a wild and violent sea," 
etc. For is of course = because. It is a rather close question be- 
tween this reading and the one in the text, which is due to Ver- 
planck.i The latter, however, has the merit of making no verbal 
change except of as to so, and no other change but the transposition 
of count, which is evidently out of place in the original. The mean- 
ing, as Verplanck states it, is : " Do not count it holy to inflict in- 
jury in the pursuit of right ; we might as well so count (that is 
count holy) violent thefts, committed to enable us to give liberally." 
For we would we might print " we 'd," but the former, like many 
similar combinations, not unfrequently occurs where it is metrically 
equivalent to the other. Other readings are : " For us to count 
we give what 's gain'd by thefts ; " "For we would give much, to 
count violent thefts ; " " (For we would give much) to commit 
violent thefts ; " " For we would give as much to violent thefts ; " 

1 The note in Verplanck is liable to be misunderstood owing to the 
fact that the quotation from Knight is not marked as a quotation. As 
it stands, Verplanck appears to give and defend two different readings, 
but a comparison with Knight will show that one of these belongs to 
that editor. 



27 2 Notes [Act V 

and " For we 'd give much, to count as virtues thefts/' which is 
both awkward and harsh. 

26. Keeps the weather of. " Keeps the weather-gage of ; " a 
nautical phrase = have the advantage of. 

27, Brave man. The early eds. have " deere " or " dear," which 
is explained by Johnson and Schmidt as = valuable, worthy, or 
estimable ; and by others as = zealous, earnest. Brave is the 
emendation of Pope ; perhaps not absolutely necessary. 

38. A lion. " The traditions and stories of the darker ages 
abounded with examples of the lion's generosity" (Johnson). 
Cf. A. V. L. iv. 3. 118. 

40. Grecian falls. The majority of the editors follow Rowe in 
reading " Grecians fall ; " but the old text may be what S. wrote, 
the antecedent of them being implied in niany times. Captive must 
here be = conquered ; as in R. of L. 730, Sonn. 66. 12, etc. Cf. 
the noun in R. of L. 75, L. L. L. iv. i. 76, etc. 

41. The fan and wind, etc. Cf. Ham. ii. 2. 495: "But with 
the whiff and wind of his fell sword," etc. Verity quotes Marlowe, 
Dido, ii. I : — 

" Which he disdaining, whisk'd his sword about, 
And with the wind thereof the King fell down." 

48. Ruthful. Piteous ; as elsewhere in S. Cf. Rich III. iv. 3. 5 : 
" ruthful butchery," etc. 

55. Eyes d'ergalled. That is, inflamed with weeping. Cf. Rich. 
III. iv. 4. 53 : "galled eyes of weeping souls ; " and Ham.'\. 2. 
155 : "her galled eyes." Recourse of tears = \.^zx% that course 
(follow) one another down the face. 

73. Shame respect. " Disgrace the respect I owe you, by acting 
in opposition to your commands" (Steevens). 

84. Shrills. The only instance of the verb in S. Cf. Spenser, 
Epithalamium : — 

" Harke ! how the Minstrils gin to shrill aloud 
Their merry Musick ; " 



Scene IV] Notes 273 

and F. O. vi. 8. 46 : " Then gan the bagpypes and the homes to 
shrill." Steevens quotes Heywood, Silver Age : " I have shrill'd 
thy daughter's loss," etc. 

85. Distraction. The quarto has "destruction." See on v. 
2. 41 above. 

86. Antics. Buffoons. Cf. Hen. V. iii. 2. 32 : " three such 
antics," etc. 

91. Exclai?n. For the noun (elsewhere only in the plural), cf. 
Rich. II. i. 2. 2, Rick. III. i. 2. 52, iv. 4. 135, etc. 

loi. Tisick. Phthisic; used by S. only here, and as a name in 
2 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 92 : " Master Tisick." 

104. Rheu77i. Watering. It is often = tears ; as in Much 
Ado, V. 2. 85, K. John,\\\. I. 22, iv. I. 33, iv. 3. 108, etc. 

106. Cursed. That is, under the influence of a curse or male- 
diction (Steevens), 

111. Words and errors. " Misleading words " (Herford). 

112. But edifies, etc. After this line the folio has the fol- 
lowing : — 

" Pand. Why, but heare you ? 

Troy. Hence brother lackie ; ignomie and shame 
Pursue thy life, and liue aye with thy name." 

These lines are not in the quarto, and as they occur with a slight 
variation in v. 10. 32-34 below, I follow the majority of the editors 
in omitting them here. It might be better, however, as Walker 
suggests, to omit them there, and insert them here. 

Scene IV. — i. Clapper-clazving. Used again in J/. ^. ii. 3. 67. 
It occurs also in the old preface to the present play. See p. 9 
above. 

8. Luxurious. Lustful ; the only sense in S. Cf. the noun in 
V. 2. 55 above. Sleeveless (the only instance of the word in S.) 
= bootless ; but it is not clear how the word got that meaning. 
Nash, in Lenten Stuff, has " a sleeveless answer." 

10, Swearing. Changed by Theobald to " sneering ; " but, as 
TROILUS — 18 



274 Notes [Act V 

Clarke remarks, crafty sivearing may be = " craftily swearing, 
pledging themselves to any thing for their own crafty purposes." 

.16. Proclaim barbarism. " To set up the authority of ignorance, 
to declare that they will be governed by policy no longer " (Johnson). 

20. Retire. For the noun, cf. v. 3. 53 above. 

27. Of blood and honour. x\ccording to the rules of chivalry, a 
person of superior birth might not be challenged by an inferior, or, 
if challenged, might refuse the combat (Reed). 

31. God-a-mercy. The expression was sometimes = God have 
mercy (as in T. of S. iv. 3. 154, i Hen. IV. iii. 3. 58, etc.) ; but 
sometimes, as here, used like Gramercy (= great thanks), for 
which see Z". ^5. i. i. 41, 168, etc. 

Scene V. — i. Go, go, jny servant, etc. This circumstance is 
also copied from Caxton : " And of the party of the Troyans came 
the King Ademon that jousted against Menelaus, and smote him, 
and hurt him in the face : and he and Troylus took him, and had 
led him away, if Diomedes had not come the sooner with a great 
company of knights, and fought with Troylus at his coming, and 
smote him down, and took his horse, and sent it to Briseyda, and 
did cause to say to her by his servant that it was Troylus's horse, 
her love, and that he had conquered him by his promise, and 
prayed her from thenceforth that she would hold him for her love." 

7. Margarelon. Pronounced Mar-gar' -e-lon (properly Mar- 
gar' -i-ton^. This bastard son of Priam is mentioned by both 
Lydgate and Caxton. 

9. Colossus-wise. "Like a Colossus" {/. C. i. 2. 136). His 
beam = his mighty lance. Cf. i Samuel, xvii. 7. 

10. Pashed. Stricken down, crushed. Cf. ii. 3. 205 above. 

14. Sagittary. A monster described by Caxton as "a mer- 
vayllouse beste that was called sagittayre, that behynde the 
myddes was an horse, and to fore, a man : this beste was heery 
like an horse, and had his eyen rede as a cole, and shotte well 
with a bowe : this beste made the Grekes sore aferde, and slewe 



Scene V] Notes 275 

many of them with his bowe " (quoted by Theobald). Lydgate 
also describes the Sagittary thus (as quoted by Knight) : — 

" And with him Guido saith that he had 
A wonder archer of sight mervaylous, 
Of form and shape in manner monstrous: 
For like mine auctour as I rehearse can, 
Fro the navel upward he was man, 
And lower down like a horse yshaped : 
And thilke part that after man was marked 
Of skin was black and rough as any bear, 
Cover'd with hair fro cold him for to wear. 
Passing foul and horrible of sight, 
Whose eyes twain were sparkling as bright 
As is a furnace with his red leven. 
Or the lightning that falleth from the heaven ; 
Dreadful of look, and red as fire of cheer, 
And, as I read, he was a good archer ; 
And with his bow both at even and morrow 
Upon Greeks he wrought much sorrow." 

Sagittary occurs also (as the name of an inn or house) in 0th. 
i. I. 159 and 1.3. 115. 

20. Galathe. The name given to Hector's horse by both 
Caxton and Lydgate. Hudson inadvertently calls this " another 
instance of the old genitive form," and compares " Mars his gaunt- 
let" in iv. 5. 177 above, 

22. Scaled sculls. Scaly shoals of fish. Pope reads " shoals " 
for sculls, which, like school (as applied to fishes), is etymologically 
the same word. Steevens quotes Milton, P. L. vii. 399 : — 

" Forthwith the sounds and seas, each creek and bay, 
With fry innumerable swarms, and shoals 
Of fish, that with their fins and shining scales 
Glide under the green wave, in sculls that oft 
Bank the mid sea ; " 

and Drayton, Polyolbion, song 26 : " My silver-scaled sculls about 
my streams do sweep." 



276 Notes [Act V 

24. Strawy. The folio has " straying." 

29. Pj'oof. What is proved, or the fact. 

35. Crying on. Crying out. Cf. 0th, v. I. 48: "cries on 
murther," etc. It may, however, be = exclaiming against, as 
some make it. 

44. We draw together. As Steevens remarks, this seems to 
refer to the return of Ajax and Achilles to the field after having 
withdrawn from active participation in the war. Verity thinks it 
possible that the metaphor suggested is "that of a pack of hounds 
drawing a covert ; Ajax, Diomede, and Nestor all trying to track 
down Troilus." 

45. Boy-queller. Boy-killer. Cf. man-queller and woman- 
queller in 2 Hen. IV. ii. i. 58. Cf. also quell ( = murder) in 
Macb. i. 7. 72. 

Scene VI. — 7. For my horse ! Cf. v. 5. i above. 

10. Look upon. Be a mere looker-on. a.T^Hen. F/. ii. 3. 27: — 

" And look upon, as if the tragedy 
Were play'd in jest by counterfeiting actors." 

11. Cogging. Cheating. Cf. Much Ado, v. i. 95, 0th. iv. 2. 
132, etc. 

17. Befriends. The reading of quarto and 1st folio, changed in 
the 2d folio to " befriend." 

20. Much more a fresher man. A much more fresher. Such 
transposition of the article is not uncommon. For the double 
comparative, cf. ii. 2. ii above. 

24. Carry. Bear off as a prize, conquer. Cf. A. W. iii. 7. 19 : 
" Resolv'd to carry her," etc. 

26. / end. The folio has " thou end." 

29. Frush. Bruise, batter {Yx. froisser') ; the only instance of 
the word in S. Steevens quotes Holinshed : "sore frusht with 
sickness ; " Fairfax, Tasso : " Rinaldo's armour frush'd and hack'd 
they had," etc. Caxton has " to-frushed." 



Scene VIII] Notes 277 

Scene VII. — 6. Execute your arms. If this be what S. wrote, 
it must be = ply your arms, make use of them. Most editors 
follow Capell in reading "aims" for arms; but the Myrmidons 
were executing the ai7ns of Achilles, not their own. The state- 
ment made by Collier (repeated by White and others), that the 
Duke of Devonshire's copy of the quarto has " aimes," is incorrect ; 
the letter mistaken for i being "an imperfect r" (Cambridge ed.). 
Capell's copy and the two copies in the British Museum have 
" armes." 

II. Double-henned sparrow. " Perhaps = sparrow with a double- 
hen, that is, with a female married to two cocks, and hence false 
to both" (Schmidt). 

Scene VIII. — 2. Thy goodly armour. As Clarke remarks, 
this links the present scene to scene 6, where " one in sumptuous 
armour " appears and is challenged by Hector. 

4. Rest, sword, etc. Cf. Caxton : " When Achilles saw that 
Hector slew thus the nobles of Greece, and so many other that it 
was marvel to behold, he thought that, if Hector were not slain, 
the Greeks would never have victory. And forasmuch as he had 
slain many kings and princes, he ran upon him marvellously, . . . 
but Hector cast to him a dart fiercely, and made him a wound in 
his thigh : and then Achilles issued out of the battle, and did bind 
up his wound, and took a great spear in purpose to slay Hector, if 
he might meet him. Among all these things Hector had taken a 
very noble baron of Greece, that was quaintly and richly armed, 
and, for to lead him out of the host at his ease, had cast his shield 
behind him at his back, and had left his breast discovered : and as 
he was in this point, and took none heed of Achilles, he came 
privily unto him, and thrust his spear within his body, and Hector 
fell down dead to the ground." 

From the same authority S. took the incident of Achilles employ- 
ing his Myrmidons for the destruction of a Trojan chief; but the 
chief is Troilus, not Hector : "After these things the nineteenth 



278 Notes [Act V 

battle began with great slaughter ; and afore that Achilles entered 
into the battle he assembled his Myrmidons, and prayed them that 
they would intend to none other thing but to enclose Troylus, and 
to hold him without flying till he came, and that he would not be 
far from them. And they promised him that they so would. And 
he thronged into the battle. And on the other side came Troylus, 
that began to flee and beat down all them that he caught, and did 
so much, that about mid-day he put the Greeks to flight ; then the 
Myrmidons (that were two thousand fighting men, and had not 
forgot the commandment of their lord) thrust in among the 
Troyans, and recovered the field. And as they held them together, 
and sought no man but Troylus, they found him that he fought 
strongly, and was enclosed on all parts, but he slew and wounded 
many. And as he was all alone among them, and had no man to 
succour him, they slew his horse, and hurt him in many places, and 
plucked off his head helm, and his coif of iron, and he defended 
him in the best manner he could. Then came on Achilles, when 
he saw Troylus all naked, and ran upon him in a rage, and smote 
off his head, and cast it under the feet of his horse, and took the 
body and bound it to the tail of his horse, and so drew it after him 
throughout the host." 

7. Vail. Descent, not veiling. It is the only instance of the 
noun in S., but the verb occurs several times. Cf. AT. ofV. i. i. 28, 
Ham. i. 2. 70, etc. For darking (cf. Per. iv. prol. 35) the quarto 
has " darkning." 

15. Retire. The folio has " retreat." Cf. v. 4. 20 above. 

17. Dragon wing of night. Cf. M. N. D. iii. 2. 379 : "For 
night's swift dragons cut the clouds full fast ; " and Cymb. ii. 2. 48 : 
" Swift, swift, you dragons of the night," etc. 

18. Stickler-like. Like the stickler, or umpire in a knightly 
combat ; used by S. only here. Cf. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, iv. 2 : 
" So he may have fair play shown himi and the liberty to choose his 
stickler." 

19. Half-supfd. That has but half supped. 



Scene X] Notes 279 

20. Bait. The ist folio has " bed," changed in the 2d to "bitt." 
Steevens says of 19-22 : "These four despicable verses, as well as 
the rhyming fit with which 'the blockish Ajax' is afterwards seized, 
could scarce have fallen from the pen of our author, in his most 
unlucky moments of composition." Clarke calls the closing couplet 
" flabby bombast. " 

22. Along the field I will the Trojan trail. Knight believes 
that S. here follows Chapman {Iliad, xxii.) : — 

" This said, a work not worthy him he set to ; of both feet 
He bor'd the nerves through from the heel to th' ankle, and then knit 
Both to his chariot with a thong of white leather, his head 
Trailing the centre. Up he got to chariot, where he laid 
The arms repurchas'd, and scourg'd on his horse that freely flew ; 
A whirlwind made of startled dust drave with them as they drew. 
With which were all his black-brown curls knotted in heaps and fill'd. 
And there lay Troy's late gracious, by Jupiter exil'd. 
To all disgrace in his own land, and by his parents seen." 

But this portion of Chapman's translation was not published when 
the play was written. As the poet was not likely to be familiar 
with the Greek original, he may here have been indebted to Lyd- 
gate, who, in his 31st chapter, tells " How Achilles slew the worthy 
Troylus unknightly, and after trayled his body through the fyelds, 
tyed to his horse ; " or, as Verplanck suggests, he may have got the 
incident from Virgil {^neid, ii. 272), either in the original, or 
from the translation of Phaer (1584) or that of Stanyhurst, of about 
the same date. See also 4 above. 

Scene IX. — 4. Bruit. Rumour; as in T. of A.v. \. 196, etc. 
For the verb, see Alach. v. 7. 22. 

5. Bragless. Used by S. only here. 

Scene X. — 7. Smile at. If this is not corrupt, it is — smile 
derisively at. Hanmer has " smite all," and Warburton " smite 
at." The former is very plausible, and is adopted by Dyce. 



28o Notes [Act V 

White, who retains smile, remarks : " smite at is hardly a phrase 
that S. would use to express the action of the gods when sitting 
upon their thrones." 

19. Niobes. For the allusion, cf. Ham. i. 2. 149 : " Like Niobe, 
all tears." 

24. Pight. Pitched, fixed. Cf. Lear, ii. i. 67 : "found him 
pight to do it ; " that is, firmly resolved. 

25. Titan. The god of the sun ; as in V. and A. 177, R.andJ. 
ii. 3. 4, Cy?nb. iii. 4. 166, etc. 

26. Great-si£d. Cf. iii. 3. 147 above. 

31. Hope of revenge, etc. I am inclined to agree with Walker 
that the play, so far as S. is concerned, ends here. As he says, 
" the mind of the reader is fully satisfied, and anything additional 
sounds like an impertinence and obtrusion." Verses 32-34 he 
would place at the end of v. 3 ; and the rest of Pandarus' epilogue 
he regards as an interpolation. As Verity remarks, one would 
gladly believe that the ribald rubbish with which the play ends was 
not written by Shakespeare. Troilus here survives. In Caxton 
(see on v. 8. 4) he is killed by Achilles, and the event is nar- 
rated with considerable circumstantiality. Curiously enough, this 
detail is unknown to Homer. He merely mentions (^Iliad xxiv. 
257) that Troilus had been slain in battle before the time of the 
Iliad. Probably Virgil was the authority for the later accounts. 
Cf. ^neid, i. 474-478 : — 

" Parte alia fugiens amissis Troilus armis, 
Infelix puer atque impar congressus Achilli," etc. 

33. Ignomy. Cf. i Hen. IV. v. 4. 100 and T. A. iv. 2. 115. 

46. Painted cloths. The painted hangings of rooms, which had 
mottoes connected with the figures on them. Cf. A. Y. L. iii 2. 
290 : " I answer you right painted cloth," etc. Malone quotes 
from a tract published in 1 60 1 : — 

" Read what is written on the painted cloth ; 
Do no man wrong ; be good unto the poor. 



Scene X] Notes 28 1 

Beware the mouse, the maggot and the moth, 
And ever have an eye into the door." 

Bible scenes were often found on these painted cloths, and on 
more elaborate hangings of tapestry used for adorning rooms. A 
favourite subject was the story of the Prodigal and that of Lazarus. 
Cf. I Hen. IV. iv. 2. 27 and M, W. iv. 5. 9. Sometimes the sub- 
jects were classical. Cf. Ford, The Fancies, ii. i : — 

" he stands 
Just like Actaeon in the painted cloth." 

See also Much Ado, iii. 3. 145 : " the shaven Hercules in the 
smirched worm-eaten tapestry." 

54. Some galled goose of Winchester. "As the public stews 
were under the control of the Bishop of Winchester, a strumpet 
was called a Winchester goose^'' (Mason). Ca/Z^fS^ = diseased or 
offended, or perhaps both. 

55. Sweat. An allusion to the treatment of certain diseases. 
See on iii. i. 42 above. 



APPENDIX 

"The War of the Theatres" 

As I have said in the Introduction, I do not believe that the 
present play had any connection with the so-called " War of the 
Theatres," as some excellent critics have supposed it had ; but that 
memorable controversy was an interesting episode in the dramatic 
history of the closing years of the sixteenth century, and a brief 
account of it may not be out of place here. 

The " war " was due to the quarrels of Marston and Dekker 
with Ben Jonson, and the record of it is mainly to be found in 
their plays written between 1598 and 1602. Other dramatists have 
been supposed to be involved in it, but there is no satisfactory 
evidence that they were. 

Marston's Satires have generally been regarded as the first cause 
of the quarrel ; but the critics do not agree as to the passages 
in which Jonson is supposed to be satirized. Some believe that 
Torquatus in the Scourge of Villanie (1598) was meant for Jon- 
son ; but this view is not supported by what Jonson himself says 
concerning the beginning of the quarrel. See the Apologetical 
Dialogue appended to The Poetaster, first printed in 161 6, and 
stated to have been "only once spoken on the stage:" — 

" But sure I am, three years 
They did provoke me with their petulant styles 
On every stage ; and I at last, unwilling, 
But weary, I confess, of so much trouble, 
Thought I would try if shame could win upon 'em." 

In the Conversations with Drummoud, we read: "He [Jonson] 

282 



Appendix 283 

had many quarrels with Marston, beat him, and took his pistol 
from him, wrote his Poetaster on him ; the beginning of them were 
that Marston represented him on the stage, in his youth given to 
venerie." 

If, as these passages both assert, the quarrel arose from some 
stage representation, it could not have been the Scourge ofVillanie, 
which was a satire in verse ; and the internal evidence in the poem 
that Jonson is ridiculed is by no means decisive. 

Whether Marston began the quarrel or not, it is clear that Jon- 
son attacked him in Every Alan Out of His Humour (acted in 
1599), where certain peculiar words used by Marston in the Scourge 
of Villanie and Histriomastix are ridiculed, and the latter play is 
mentioned by name. Marston appears to have had a hand in His- 
triomastix, if he was not the sole author of it. The character of 
Chrisoganus in the play is quite certainly intended for Jonson ; 
and Carlo Buffone in Every Man Out of His Humour is meant 
by Jonson for Marston. 

Several plays by Dekker have been thought by critics to be 
connected with the quarrel between Jonson and Marston, and 
concerning Satiromastix (1601) at least there can be no doubt, as 
it is avowedly a reply to Ben's satirical comedies, especially to The 
Poetaster, in which Dekker is introduced as Demetrius, who is to 
w-rite a play ridiculing Horace (Jonson). 

Cynthia's Revels (1601) was written by Jonson to satirize the 
four men (probably Marston, Daniel, Lodge, and Munday) who 
had been ridiculed in Every Man Out of His Humour. The 
Poetaster, however, is his only avowed reply to the attacks made 
upon him. It was first performed in 1 60 1 by the Children of the 
Chapel, with whom Jonson had formed an alliance, and who had 
also rendered Cynthia's Revels. 

The scene of The Poetaster is laid in Rome, in the time of 
Augustus, and Jonson appears as Horace. The " poetaster " is 
Crispinus (Marston), who has associated Demetrius (Dekker) with 
him " to abuse Horace and bring him in in a play." The most 



284 Appendix 

famous scene (v. i) is that in which Horace administers an emetic 
pill to Crispinus, who, with Demetrius, has been condemned for 
attacking Horace. The scene is an adaptation of the Lexipkanes 
of Lucian, which Jonson often follows in both incidents and lan- 
guage. The pill compels Crispinus to disgorge the peculiar words 
that marked his style, and many of them have been identified in 
Marston's works. Demetrius is recommended for mercy by Hor- 
ace ; the " oath for good behaviour " is administered to both him 
and Crispinus, who swear that they will never again " malign, tra- 
duce, or detract the person or writings of Quintus Horatius Flaccus, 
or any other eminent man." 

In this play Jonson, who had learned that Marston and Dekker 
were conspiring to attack him in Satiromasiix, anticipated and 
answered the charges they intended to bring against him. So far 
as he was concerned. The Poetaster ended the " War of the Thea- 
tres," and peace soon followed. Marston and Jonson were both 
contributors to Chester's Loves Martyr in 1601 ; and in 1604 they 
both collaborated with Chapman in writing Eastward Ho, in which 
allusions to the Scots offended King James and his friends, and 
sent all three dramatists to jail. In the same year (1604) Marston 
dedicated his Malcontent to " Benjamino Jonsonio, poetae elegan- 
tissimo, gravissimo, amico suo, candido et cordato." 

Some writers have assumed that the " war " was injurious to the 
interests of both dramatists and actors ; but Jonson, in more than 
one passage, intimates that the plays to which it gave rise were 
profitable to the authors ; and, if so, they must have been profitable 
to the actors as well. Jonson, in the Apologetical Dialogue, says : — 

" Now for the players, it is true I taxed them, 
And yet but some ; and those so sparingly 
As all the rest might have sat still unquestioned. 
Had they but had the wit or conscience 
To think well of themselves. But, impotent, they 
Thought each man's vice belonged to their whole tribe ; 
And much good do 't them ! What they have done 'gainst me, 



Appendix 285 

I am not moved with : if it gave them meat, 

Or got them clothes, 't is well ; that was their end. 

Only amongst them, I am sorry for 

Some better natures, by the rest so drawn 

To run in that vile line." 

The plays helped to get the authors meat and clothes, and this w^as 
their end in writing them. Histrio says that the reason for hiring 
Demetrius to bring in Horace and his gallants in a play is " that it 
will get us a huge deal of money . . . and we have need on 't." 
" Of course," as Professor J. H. Penniman, in his scholarly War 
of the Theatres, 1897 (to which I have been much indebted), re- 
marks, " any profit to be derived from satirical plays could be 
gained by Jonson as well as by his opponents. Although he was 
several times involved in legal difficulties on account of his plays, 
and although the Elizabethan laws concerning libel and slander 
were severe, and the people of the time were litigious, yet we have 
no record of any legal action instituted by the playwrights against 
Jonson, or by Jonson against the playwrights. There was undoubt- 
edly much bitterness of feeling on both sides, but, much as they 
hated each other, they sought no legal redress, for the almost 
libellous plays were a source of profit, and legal proceedings might 
have killed the goose that laid the golden eggs." 

In the plays already mentioned as connected with the " War of 
the Theatres " there is no evidence worthy of serious consideration 
to show that Shakespeare was involved in the wordy conflict. It 
is improbable, indeed, that he would have been supposed to be one 
of the combatants except for a perplexing allusion to him in The 
Return from Parnassus, a play " publiquely acted by the students 
in St. Johns Colledge, in Cambridge," as the title-page of the edition 
of 1606 informs us. This performance at Cambridge was at Christ- 
mastide, 1601-2, and not improbably on the ist of January, 1602. 

The play must have been written after The Poetaster, to which 
there is a direct allusion. In iv. 3, Kempe says to Burbage : " Few 
of the university pen plaies well, they smell too much of that writer 



286 Appendix 

Ovid, and that writer Metamorphosis, and talke too much of Pro- 
serpina and Juppiter. Why heres our fellow Shakespeare puts them 
all downe, I [ay] and Ben Jonson too. O that Ben Jonsojt is a 
pestilent fellow, he brought up Horace giving the Poets a pill, but 
our fellow Shakespeare hath given him a purge that made him 
beray his credit." 

At first thought it is natural to suppose that the " purge " given 
by Shakespeare to Ben Jonson is a play ; and the only play of 
Shakespeare's that can possibly be considered as meant is Troilus 
and Cressida, the date of which is put by some critics (see p. 12 
above) as early as 1 601. 

A play upon Shakespeare's name has been fancied to occur in 
Histriomastix in the following passage : — 

" Thy knight his valiant elbow wears, 
That when he shakes his furious speare 
The foe in shivering fearful sort 
May lay him down in death to snort." 

In Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida the line (i. 3. 73), " When 
rank Thersites opes his mastic jaws," has been supposed to con- 
tain in the word mastic an allusion to Histriomastix, and Thersites 
has been suspected to represent Marston, while Ajax is Ben 
Jonson. Fleay declares that " hardly a word is spoken of or by 
Ajax in ii. 3 and iii. 3 which does not apply literally to Jonson ; 
and in ii. I he beats Thersites of the ' mastic jaws ' as Jonson 
'beat Marston' (^Conversations with Drummond).^'' ^Moreover, 
"Thersites in all respects resembles Marston, the railing satirist;" 
and the "purge " is from Troilus and Cressida, ii. 3. 215 : " He 
will be the physician that should be the patient," In another 
passage Fleay says that " the setting up of Ajax as a rival to 
Achilles shadows forth the putting forward of Dekker by the 
King's men to write against Jonson his Satiromastix ;" and in 
yet another passage he says that Dekker is Thersites in 'Troilus 
and Cressida. It will be seen that Fleav is not consistent with 



Appendix 287 

himself, as indeed he has often failed to be in discussing other 
dramatic questions. In the first passage, Ajax is Jonson, and 
Thersites is Marston ; in the second, Ajax is Dekker and Achilles 
is Jonson ; in the third, Thersites is Dekker. Gifford maintained 
that the " purge " was merely Shakespeare's great superiority to 
other playwrights ; and Sidney Lee takes it to refer to the fact that 
" Shakespeare had signally outstripped Jonson in popular esteem ; " 
adding that, " as the author of Julius Ccesar, he had just proved 
his command of topics that were peculiarly suited to Jonson's vein, 
and had in fact outrun his churlish comrade on his own ground." 
Professor Penniman thinks that the "purge" must be "some- 
thing more definite " than Gifford suggests, and was " presumably 
a play ; " and Dr. Brinsley Nicholson supposes it to be some play 
of Shakespeare's that has not come down to us. Dr. Cartwright, in 
his Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, Dramatic versus Wit Combats, 
connects Shakespeare's Much Ado, As You Like It, Tinion of 
Athens, and Othello with the quarrel : " Who can doubt that lago 
is malignant Ben ? " Fleay recognizes Marston as Malvolio in 
Twelfth Night, and Maria's " M. O. A. I." in the forged letter as 
" lo. Ma. (John Marston)." "With the locking up of Crispinus 
in some dark place, compare the imprisonment of Malvolio." 
Verily, as Dowden says of certain wild theories concerning the 
Sonnets, " these be the pranks of Puck among the critics ! " 

The simplest solution of the problem is, on the whole, the most 
satisfactory ; and Sidney Lee (^Life of Shakespeare, p. 219 fol.) is, 
to my thinking, substantially right, though it does not seem neces- 
sary to suspect a specific allusion to Julius Ccesar. The author 
of The Return from Parnassus makes simply a metaphorical 
reference to Ben Jonson's purgative pill, which was a disagreeable 
dose for his patients. Shakespeare gave Ben an equally unpalata- 
ble dose by outdoing him as a playwright and thus physicking his 
abounding self-conceit ; and this treatment was wholly indepen- 
dent of Ben's quarrel with his fellow dramatists, in which the " gentle 
Shakespeare " had no part whatsoever. 



288 Appendix 

The Story of the Play in Chaucer and Shakespeare. 

William Godwin, in his Life of Chaucer, has some interesting 
comments on this subject. He says : — 

" Since two of the greatest writers this island has produced have 
treated the same story, each in his own peculiar manner, it may be 
neither unentertaining nor uninstructive to consider the merit of 
their respective modes of composition as illustrated in the present 
example. Chaucer's poem includes many beauties, many genuine 
touches of nature, and many strokes of an exquisite pathos. It is 
on the whole, however, written in that style which has unfortu- 
nately been so long imposed upon the world as dignified, classical, 
and chaste. It is naked of incidents, of ornament, of whatever 
should most awaken the imagination, astound the fancy, or hurry 
away the soul. It has the stately march of a Dutch burgomaster 
as he appears in a procession, or a French poet as he shows him- 
self in his works. It reminds one too forcibly of a tragedy of 
Racine. Every thing partakes of the author, as if he thought he 
should be everlastingly disgraced by becoming natural, inartificial, 
and alive. We travel through a work of this sort as we travel over 
some of the immense downs with which our island is interspersed. 
All is smooth, or undulates with so gentle and slow a variation as 
scarcely to be adverted to by the sense. But all is homogeneous 
and tiresome ; the mind sinks into a state of aching torpidity ; 
and we feel as if we should never get to the end of our eternal 
journey. What a contrast to a journey among mountains and 
valleys, spotted with herds of various kinds of cattle, interspersed 
with villages, opening ever and anon to a view of the distant ocean, 
and refreshed with rivulets and streams ; where if the eye is ever 
fatigued, it is only with the boundless flood of beauty which is 
incessantly pouring upon it ! Such is the tragedy of Shakespeare. 

" The historical play of Troilus and Cressida exhibits as full a 
specimen of the different styles in which this wonderful writer was 
qualified to excel as is to be found in any of his works." 



Appendix 289 

Then follows the passage I have quoted in the note on iii. 3. 
224 above. Mr. Godwin proceeds thus : — 

" Never did morality hold a language more profound, persuasive 
and irresistible than in Shakespeare's Ulysses, who in the same 
scene, and engaged in the same cause with Patroclus, thus expostu- 
lates with the champion of the Grecian forces : — 

' For emulation hath a thousand sons, 
That one by one pursue. If you give way, 
Or hedge aside from the direct forthright. 
Like to an enter'd tide, they all rush by. 
And leave you hindmost : there you lie, 
Like to a gallant horse fallen in first rank. 
For pavement to the abject rear, o'er-run 
And trampled on. ... 

O, let not virtue seek 
Remuneration for the thing it was ! 
For beauty, wit, high birth, desert in semce, 
Love, friendship, charity, are subjects all 
To envious and calumniating time. 
One touch of nature makes the whole world kin, — 
That all with one consent praise new-born gauds, 
And give to dust that is a little gilt 
More praise than they will give to gold o'erdusted. 
Then marvel not, thou great and complete man, 
That all the Greeks begin to worship Ajax. . . . 

The cry went once on thee, 
And still it might, and yet it may again, 
If thou wouldst not entomb thyself alive, 
And case thy reputation in thy tent.' 

*' But the great beauty of this play, as it is of all the genuine writ- 
ings of Shakespeare, beyond all didactic morality, beyond all mere 
flights of fancy, and beyond all sublime — a beauty entirely his own, 
and in which no waiter, ancient or modern, can enter into competi- 
tion with him — is that his men are men; his sentiments are living, 
and his characters marked with those delicate, evanescent, unde- 

TROILUS — 19 



290 Appendix 

finable touches which identify them with the great delineation of 
nature. The speech of Ulysses just quoted, when taken by itself, 
is purely an exquisite specimen of didactic morality; but when 
combined with the explanation given by Ulysses, before the entrance 
of Achilles, of the nature of his design, it becomes the attribute of 
a real man and starts into life, 

"When we compare the plausible and seemingly affectionate 
manner in which Ulysses addresses himself to Achilles with the key 
which he here furnishes to his meaning, and especially with the 
epithet ' derision,' we have a perfect elucidation of his character, 
and must allow that it is impossible to exhibit the crafty and smooth- 
tongued politician in a more exact or animated style. The advice 
given by Ulysses is in its nature sound and excellent, and in its form 
inoffensive and kind ; the name therefore of ' derision ' which he 
gives to it, marks to a wonderful degree the cold and self-centred 
subtlety of his character. 

" Cressida's confession to Troilus of her love is a most beautiful 
example of the genuine Shakespearian manner. What charming 
ingenuousness, what exquisite naivete, what ravishing confusion of 
soul, are expressed in these words I We seem to perceive in them 
every fleeting thought as it rises in the mind of Cressida, at the 
same time that they delineate with equal skill all the beautiful 
timidity and innocent artifice which grace and consummate the 
feminine character. Other writers endeavour to conjure up before 
them their imaginary personages, and seek with violent effort to 
arrest and describe what their fancy presents to them : Shakespeare 
alone (though not without many exceptions to this happiness) 
appears to have the whole train of his characters in voluntary 
attendance upon him, to listen to their effusions, and to commit 
to waiting all the w'ords, and the very words, they utter. 

"The whole catalogue of the dramatis personce in the play of 
Troihcs and Cressida, so far as they depend upon a rich and orig- 
inal vein of humour in the author, are drawn with a felicity which 
never was surpassed. The genius of Homer has been a topic of 



Appendix 29 j 



admiration to almost every generation of men since the period in 
which he wrote. But his characters will not bear the slightest com- 
parison with the delineation of the same characters as they stand 
in Shakespeare. . . . Homer's characters are drawn with a laud- 
able portion of variety and consistency; but his Achilles, his Ajax, 
and his Nestor are, each of them, rather a species than an indi- 
vidual, and can boast more of the propriety of abstraction than of 
the vivacity of a moving scene of absolute life. The Achilles, the 
Ajax, and the various Grecian heroes of Shakespeare, on the other 
hand, are absolute men, deficient in nothing which can tend to 
individualize them, and already touched with the Promethean fire 
that might infuse a soul into what, without it, were lifeless form. 
From the rest perhaps the character of Thersites deserves to be 
selected (how cold and schoolboy a sketch in Homer !) as exhibit- 
ing an appropriate vein of sarcastic humour amidst his cow^ardice, 
and a profoundness and truth in his mode of laying open the 
foibles of those about him, impossible to be excelled. " 



The Time-Analysis of the Play 

This is summed up by Mr. P. A. Daniel, in his paper " On the 
Times or Durations of the Action in Shakspere's Plays " ( Trans. 
of New Shaks. Soc. 1877-1879, p. 183), as follows : — 

" The duration of the action of this play is so distinctly marked 
by Hector's challenge that, notwithstanding the discrepancies 
pointed out in Act H. sc. iii.i and Act HI. sc. i.^ and iii.,-^ it is 
impossible to assign to it more than four days, with an interval be- 
tween the first and second. 

"Day I. Act I. sc. i. and ii. 

Interval : the long-continued truce. 
" 2. Act I. sc. iii., Act II., and Act III. 
" 3. Act IV., Act. V. sc. i. and ii. 
" 4. Act V. sc. iii.-x." 



292 Appendix 

1 " The commanders ' rub the vein ' of Ajax. Achilles declines to see 
them, but through Ulysses informs them that he ' will not to the field to- 
morrow.' At the end of the scene Ulysses remarks : — 

' To-morrow 
We must with all our main of power stand fast.' 

These two passages are somewhat ambiguous, for in fact only the single 
combat between Hector and Ajax is resolved on for the morrow." 

2 " In this scene commences an extraordinary entanglement of the 
plot of the Play. It is quite clear that from its position it must represent 
a portion of the day on which Hector sends his challenge to the Greeks : 
a day on which there could be no encounters between the hostile forces, 
and which in fact is but one day of a long-continued truce ; yet in this 
scene Pandarus asks Paris, ' Sweet lord, who 's afield to-day ? ' Paris 
replies, ' Hector, Deiphobus, Helenus, Antenor, and all the gallantry of 
Troy.' Paris himself, it seems, nor Troilus, went not. Towards the 
end of the scene a retreat is sounded, and Paris says — 

' They 're come from field : let us to Priam's hall 
To greet the warriors ; ' 

and he begs Helen to come ' help unarm our Hector.' " 

3 " The allusions to the combat which is to come off to-morrow be- 
tween Hector and Ajax are numerous in this scene, so that we are 
clearly still in the day on which Hector sent his challenge. But the en- 
tanglement of the plot which we noticed in Act III. sc. i. becomes here 
still more involved. Calchas says — 

' You have a Trojan prisoner, called Antenor, 
Yesterday took ; ' 

and he requests that Antenor may be exchanged for his daughter Cres- 
sida. The commanders assent, and Diomedes is commissioned to 
effect the exchange. From this it appears that Antenor, who goes out 
to fight on this very day (see Act III. sc. i.) — when there is no fighting 
— was nevertheless taken prisoner the day before, during the long-con- 
tinued truce," 



Appendix 293 



List of Characters in the Play 

The numbers in parentheses indicate the lines the characters 
have in each scene. 

Priam : a. 2(12) ; v. 3(8). Whole no. 20. 

I/ec/or: ii. 2(75); iv. 5(79); v. 1(5), 3(35), 4(3), 6(10). 
8(5). Whole no. 212. 

Troilus: i. 1(74); ii- 2(85); iii. 2(90); iv. 2(21), 3(5), 4(92), 
5(11); V. 1(1), 2(90), 3(32), 4(2), 6(8), 10(30). Whole no. 541. 

Paris: ii. 2(30); iii. 1(31); iv. 1(31), 3(8), 4(3). Whole 
no. 103. 

Deiphobus : iv. i(i), 4(1)- Whole no. 2. 

Helenus : ii. 2(4). Whole no. 4. 

.^neas: i. 1(5), 3(58); iv. 1(20), 2(20), 4(9), 5(25); v. 2(3), 
10(3). Whole no. 143. 

Calchas : iii. 3(29); v. 2(2). Whole no. 31. 

Pandariis: i. 1(42), 2(172); iii. 1(91), 2(61); iv. 2(36), 
4(18); v. 3(9), 10(24). Whole no. 453. 

Agamemnon: i. 3(66); ii. 3(59); i". 3(H); 1^.5(36); v. 1(4), 
5(ii)»9(5)- Whole no. 195. 

Menelaus : i. 3(1); iii. 3(1); iv. 5(9); v. i(i). Whole no. 12. 

Achilles: ii. 1(28), 3(11); iii- 3(74); iv. 5(25); v. 1(23), 
5(4), 6(6), 7(8), 8(16). WTiole no. 195. 

Ajax: ii. 1(26), 3(28); iii. -^^iT,); iv. 5(21); v. 1(3), 5(1), 
6(5), 9(2). Whole no. 89. 

Ulysses: i. 3(179); ii. 3(80; iii- 3(122); iv. 5(62); v. 1(3), 
2(28), 5(13). Whole no. 488. 

Nestor: i. 3(93); ii. 3(20); iii. 3(2); iv. 5(28); v. 5(14), 
9(1). Whole no. 158. 

Patroclus: ii. 1(3), 3(19); iii. 3(30; iv. 5(7); v. 1(10). 
Whole no. 70. 

Diomedes: ii. 3(5); iii. 3(2); iv. 1(32), 4(12), 5(6); v. 1(2), 
2(29), 4(4), 5(6), 6(4), 9(1). Whole no. 103. 



294 Appendix 

Thersites: ii. 1(85), 3(61); 111.3(48); v. 1(61), 2(23), 4(30), 
7(13). Whole no. 321. 
. Alexander : 1. 2(35). Whole no. 35. 

Margarelon : v. 7(3). Whole no. 3. 

Myrmidon : v. 8(1). Whole no. I. 

Servant: Hi. 1(20); v. 5(1). Whole no. 21. 

Boy : 1. 2(3); ill. 2(2). Whole no. 5. 

Helen : lil. I (30). Whole no. 30. 
^AndrojJiache : v. 3(15). Whole no. 15. 

Cassandra : ii. 2(13); v. 3(24). Whole no. 37. 

Cressida: l 2(115); i"- 2(71); iv. 2(44), 4(25), 5("); v. 
2(46). Whole no. 312. 

"Air\- iv. 5(1); V. 9(1), 10(1). Whole no 3. 

"Prologue" : (31). Whole no. 31. 

Antenor is on the stage in 1. 2 and iv. I, 3, and 4, but does not 
speak at all. 

In the above enumeration, parts of lines are counted as whole 
lines, making the total in the play greater than it is. The actual 
number of lines in each scene is as follows : prol. (31); i. 1(119), 
2(321)' 3(392); ii. 1(142), 2(213), 3(277); i"- 1(172), 2(220), 
3C316); iv. 1(79), 2(115), 3(12), 4(150)' 5(293); V. 1(106), 
2(i97)> 3(112), 4(38), 5(47), 6(31), 7(24), 8(22), 9(10), 10(57). 
Whole no. in the play, 3496. 

Iroiliis and Cressida is the longest of the plays, except 
Hamlet, which has 3930 lines, and Richard III., which has 3618. 
2 Henry IV. has 3446, and Coriolamcs 3410. 



INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES 
EXPLAINED 



a (transposed), 276 
abject in regard, 240 
abruption, 233 
accepted pain, 237 
achievement is command, 

196 
adamant, 235 
add coals to Cancer, 226 
addition (= quality) , 192 
addition (= title), 227, 

233. 258 
address (= prepare), 254 
advanced (= uplifted), 

260 
adversity, 262 
advertised (accent), 222 
affection (=lust), 221 
affined, 197 

affront (= confront) , 234 
against May, 194 
against the hair, 193 
allow us as we prove, 

233 
allowance, 209, 225 
an 't were, 193 
answer to my lust, 254 
antics (= buffoons) , 273 
antiquary (=ancient) , 227 
appear it, 236 
appertainments, 223 
apply (= explain), 197 
appointment, 254 
apprehensions, 224 
Aquilon, 255 
argument (play upon), 

255 
Argus, 193 
Ariachne, 267 
artist (= scholar) , 197 
aspect (accent), 201 
assinego, 215 
assubjugate, 226 
at a thousand watches, 

196 
attached with, 268 
attachment (=stop), 248 
attest, 219 



attribute (= reputation), 

224 
attributive, 217 

bad success, 219 

banks of Libya, 208 

batch, 262 

battle (=army), 231 

be with you to bring, 196 

beam (= lance), 274 

beaver (= helmet) , 207 

beef-witted, 214 

benumbed, 222 

bestowing, 231 

bias, 197, 254 

bias-drawing, 259 

billing (play upon), 232 
I blank of danger, 245 
j blench, 188, 217 
j bless thee from, 223 
I blockish, 209 

blood (= passions), 223 

bob (= cheat) , 229 

bobbed, 215 

boils (spelling), 213 

bolting, 188 
I bone-ache, 223 
I Boreas, 197, 255 

born in April, 194 
I bought and sold, 215 
' boy-queller, 276 
I brabbler, 264 

brach, 215 

bragless, 279 

brass (= tablet) , 19S 

brave (= bravado) , 254 

brave (= fine), 186 

bravely (= finely) , 194 

breath (= exercise), 224, 

257 
Briareus, 193 
brize, 198 

broad (= puffed up) , 204 
broils in applause, 209 
broken (= interrupted) , 

250 
I broken music, 229 

295 



brotherhood, 202 
bruit, 279 
buss, 260 
by a pace, 202 

Calchas, 190 

camel (personal), 195 

can (absolute), 220 

Cancer (= summer), 226 

canonize (accent), 222 

capable, 245 

capocchia, 248 

captive (= conquered), 
272 

carry (= bear off) , 276 

castle (on thy head), 
269 

catlings, 245 

centre (= earth), 200 

centre (of Ptolemaic sys- 
tem) , 235 

chafe thee, 261 

changeful potency, 253 

chapmen, 247 

characterless (accent) , 

235 
charge (= expense) , 247 
Charon, 230 
cherubins, 233 
chime a-mending, 203 
circumstance, 239 
clapper-clawing, 273 
cliff (= clef), 265 
clotpolls, 216 
coasting (= alluring), 256 
cobloaf, 214 
cogging, 276 
cotic (figurative) , 255 
colossus-wise, 274 
commerce (accent), 202, 

244 
compare (noun), 234 
compassed window, 193 
complete (accent), 243, 

246 
composure, 223, 226 
concupy, 269 



296 



Index of Words and Phrases 



condition (= on condi- 
tion), 193 
conduce, 267 
conflux, 196 
conjure, 267 
consent (= agree), 257 
consigned (accent), 249 
constant as Troilus, 235 
constringed, 269 
content, 196 

convince (= convict), 219 
convive, 261 
cope, 227 

core (= ulcer), 214, 262 
cousin, 229 
credence, 266 
creep, 240 

critics (= carpers) , 267 
crownets, 186 
crush (= destroy) , 209 
crushed into folly, 193 
crusty batch, 262 
crying on, 276 
curious (= causing care) , 

233 
cursed, 273 

Daphne, 190 
darking, 278 
date in pie, 195 
deaf (of adders) ,221 
dear (= earnest) , 270 
dearly parted, 238 
dear'st, 208 
death-tokens, 225 
debonair, 205 
deceptions, 267 
decline, 223 
decline on the declined, 

260 
deem (noun), 252 
degree (= rank) , 200 
deject (= depress), 219 
depravation, 267 
deracinate, 202 
derive, 223 
Diana's waiting-women, 

265 
digestion sake, 224 
dilated, 227 
diminutives, 263 
directive, 209 
discourse, 219, 267 
discovered, 203 
discoveries, 263 
disdain, 193 



dismes, 216 
disorbed, 216 
dispose (noun), 225 
disposer, 229 
disposition, 247 
distaste (verb), 219 
distasted, 250 
distinct (accent), 249 
dividable, 202 
double-henned sparrow, 

276 
doubt (= suspect) , 196 
dragon wing of night, 278 
draught (= privy) , 264 
draw this curtain, 231 
draw together, 276 
dressed, 203 

edge of extremity, 256 
eld, 219 
election, 208 
elephant (joints of), 224 
embracement, 259 
embrasures, 249 
emulation (= envy) , 222 
emulous (= envious), 223, 

226 
encounterers, 256 
end crowns all, the, 260 
engendering, 225 
engine, 224 
enginer, 222 
entreat (= invite), 260 
entreat her fair, 254 
envy (= malice) , 233 
errant, 196 
esperance, 266 
evil mixture, 201 
exact (accent), 260 
exasperate (form), 263 
exclaim (noun), 273 
execute your arms, 276 
expect (noun), 199 
exposure, 204 
expressure, 244 
eyes o'ergalled, 272 

faction (= union), 223 
fair on Friday, etc., 189 
falcon as the tercel, the, 

232 
fall (= let fall), 210 
fan and wind, 272 
fancy (=love), 249, 268 
fast upon, 249 
fastingj 240 



fat (=feed), 216 
father (figurative), 227 
favour (=face), 193, 260 
fee-farm, in, 232 
fills (= shafts), 231 
finch-egg, 263 
firebrand brother, 219 
fitchew, 264 
five-finger-tied, 268 
fixure, 202 
flat tamed piece, 247 
flow to, 265 
fond (= foolish), 188 
for (= against), 196 
force (= stuffy, 226, 264 
forked (= horned), 196 
forthright, 241 
fraction (= discord) , 223 
fractions of faith, 268 
fragment, 262 
fraught, 186 
fraughtage, 186 
frayed with, 230 
free (= noble) , 258 
frush, 276 
fulfilling, 187 
full of quality, 253 
fusty, 203 

gaging, 263 
Galathe, 275 
gallantry, 230 
galled, 281 
gear, 187 
Genius, 250 
gilt (= golden) , 242 
glozed, 220 
God-a-mercy, 274 
God's lid, 195 
good now, 230 
goose (= harlot) , 281 
gored, 244 
gorget, 204 
grace exact, 204 
grace (title), 228 
great morning, 249 
great-sized, 241, 280 
Greek, merry, 193, 250 
Greekish, 198, 244 
guts, 215 

hale (verb). 254 
half-supped, 278 
hardiment, 255 
harnessed light, 192 



Index of Words and Phrases 



297 



hatched in silver, 198 
hateful (= malignant) ,247 
having (noun), 238 
heart of very heart, 259 
heaving spleens. 222 
herring without a roe, 264 
hey-day (spelling), 264 
him (reflexive), 208 
his (= its), 205, 209, 217 
honesty (= chastity), 196 
honey (adjective), 265 
honey-sweet lord, 229 
honour and lordship, 228 
horns, 255 
how chance, 230 
humane (accent), 246 
humorous, 224 
hung, 260 
hurricano, 268 
hurt by being just, 270 
husbandry (= thrift), 192 
hyperboles (pronuncia- 
tion), 203 
Hyperion, 226 

I '11 tell thee, 254 

idle (play upon), 193 

idle (= useless) , 263 

ignomy, 280 

I lion, 219 

Ilium, 190 

immures (noun), 186 

impair (adjective), 257 

imperious, 259 

imposition, 233 

imposthume, 263 

iinpressure, 258 

imputation, 208 

in fee-farm, 232 

in fits (play upon) , 229 

in flood, 207 

in great exchange, 237 

in most accepted pain, 

. 237 

in second voice, 225 
in the full, 261 
includes itself in. 202 
index, 208 

indistinguishable, 263 
indrenched, 188 
infect (= infected) , 204 
ingratitudes, 241 
injurious, 249 
inseparate, 267 
insisture, 201 
instance (= proof) , 268 



into (= unto), 236 

jar, 202 

joints (= limbs), 193 

Jove's accord, 205 

keep (= dwell) , 260 
keep the weather of, 272 
keeps place with thought, 

243 
ken, 255 
kill (those pretty eyes), 

247 
kingdom'd Achilles, 225 
kiss the mistress, 232 

la ! 229 

labouring for destiny, 259 

lavolt, 253 

lazars, 223, 264 

learn (= teach), 214 

leave (= cease) , 265 

let blood, 226 

lifter (play upon) , 193 

light (adverb), 192 

like a mint, 204 

like as, 192 

likes (= pleases) , 265 

limekilns i' the palm, 263 

livers pale, 217 

look upon, 276 

lover, 244 

lunes, 224 

lustihood, 217 

luxurious (= lustful), 273 

luxury (= lust), 265 

maculation, 252 
maiden battle, 256 
mail, 241 

main (= might) , 227 
make a recordation to my 

soul, 266 
make it gracious, 219 
make my match to live, 

255 
manage (noun), 237 
mappery, 205 
Margarelon, 274 
Mars his (= Mars's), 215, 

259, 268 
mastic, 199 

matter (= business), 248 
matter (play upon), .214 
meddle nor make, 188 
medicinable, 201, 238 



mends in her own hands, 

189 
mere (= absolute) , 202 
merry Greek, 193, 250 
mill-stones, to weep, 194 
Milo, 227 
mirable, 258 
miscarry, 208 
mistress (in bowling), 232 
Mistress Thersites, 214 
modicum, 215 
moiety, 219 
mongrel, 214 
monstruosity, 233 
moral (= meaning), 254 
moral philosophy, 221 
more fresher, 276 
more softer, 216 
more wider, 267 
motive, 256 
multipotent, 258 
Myrmidon, 209 

neglection, 202 

Neoptolemus, 258 

nice, 261 

Niobes, 280 

no date in the pie, 195 

noddy, 195 

noise (= rumour) , 192 

nursery, 207 

obey to, 230 

oblique, 264 

odd with him, 261 

oddly poised, 208 

o'er-dusted, 243 

o'er-eaten, 268 

o'ergalled (eyes), 272 

o'er-wrested, 203 

of (= as regards). 195 

of (= by) , 226 

of grace exact, 204 

on (=of), 245 

on charge, 254 

on heaps, 231 

on our party, 220 

one touch of nature, etc., 

24f , 

opinion (.= reputation), 

208, 209 
opinion (= self-conceit), 

245 
oppugnancy, 202 
oration (metre), 204 
orchard ( = garden) , 231 



298 



Index of Words and Phrases 



orgulous, 186 
orifex, 267 
owes (= owns) , 238 
oyes, 259 

pace, 202 

pageant (noun), 233, 245 
pageant (verb), 203 
painted cloths, 280 
palating, 247 
palm, 230 

palsy-fumbling, 204 
palter, 226, 265 
paradoxes, 204 
parallels, 204 
parrot (and almond), 269 
part (= party), 208 
parted (= gifted) , 238 
partial, 221 

particular (noun), 216 
particular (play upon) , 

255 
pash, 226, 274 
pass (= undergo) , 220 
passed, 194 
past-proportion, 216 
patchery, 223 
peevish (= foolish) , 270 
pelting (= petty), 261 
per se, 192 

perdition (= loss) , 267 
Perseus' horse, 197 
perseverance (accent) , 

241 
persistive, 197 
person, 253 
pheeze, 226 
pia mater, 215 
pight, 280 
placket, 223 

plaguy (play upon), 225 
planet Sol, 201 
plantage, 235 
politic regard, 245 
poor our sex, 265 
porpentine, 214 
port (= gate) , 254 
possess (= inform) , 254 
potato-finger, 265 
power (= army) , 203 
precious loss, 249 
predominance, 224 
pregnant (= ready) , 253 
prenominate, 261 
prescience (accent), 205 
presented, 233 



press to death (play 

upon), 235 
presuming on, 253 
preventions (metre), 204 
pricks, 208 
primogenity, 202 
process of speech, 246 
proclaim barbarism, 274 
prodigious, 264 
prologue armed, 187 
proof, 276 
propension, 220 
proper (= comely), 195 
proper (= own), 218 
propugnation, 220 
protractive, 197 
pun (= pound), 214 
puttock, 264 

quails (= harlots) , 263 
quality (= tenor), 247 
question, 246 '■■ 

quoted (= noted) , 260 

rack, 194 

rain, to lay wind, 250 

rank (adjective), 204 

ransacked (= stolen) , 220 

rape, 220 

rash, 248 

rate (= find fault with) , 

218 
reasons (play upon ?) , 216 
rechides, 198 
record (accent), 197 
recordation, 267 
recourse of tears, 272 
red murrain, 214 
rejoindure, 249 
repining, 205 
reproof (= refutation), 

197 
repured, 230 
respect (= deliberation ) , 

217 
retire (noun), 274, 278 
revenue (accent), 222 
rheum, 273 
ribald, 248 

rich shall have more, 195 
rivelled, 263 
rode on his side, 225 
roisting, 222 

roundly (= plainly), 234 
rub on, 232 



rule in unity, 267 
ruminate, 226 
ruthful, 272 

sacred aunt, 258 

Sagittary, 274 

salt (= bitter), 209 

sans, 201 

savage strangeness, 224 

scab (play upon), 214 

scaffoldage, 203 

scaled sculls, 275 

scantling, 208 

scar (= wound), 191 

scurril, 203 

seam (= fat) , 226 

secrets (trisyllable ?),249 

secure (= careless), 216 

securely (= carelessly) , 

256 
see (= see each other) , 

250 
seethes, 229 
seizure, 189 
seld, 259 

self-admission, 225 
self-affected, 226 
self-breath, 225 
sequestering, 236 
serpentine, 222 
serpigo, 223 
set your wit to, 215 
severally entreat, 261 
severals and generals, 204 
'sfoot, 222 
shaked, 202 
shame respect, 272 
she (= her), 227 
she (= woman) , 196 
shent, 223 
shoeing-horn, 264 
short-armed, 222 
should (= would) , 202 
shrewd (spelling), 194 
shrewdly gored, 244 
shrills (verb), 272 
sick (= envious) , 202 
sieve (= basket) , 217 
sinister (accent), 259 
sith, 196, 266 
six-gated city, 187 
sleave silk, 263 
sleeve, 252, 265 
sleeveless, 273 
'slid, 195 
slipped (play upon) , 223 



Index of Words and Phrases 299 



sluttish spoils of oppor- 
tunity, 256 

small pricks, 208 

smile at, 279 

sodden-witted, 215 

soilure, 247 

sometime, 203 

sort (= lot), 209 

sorts (= suits), igo 

speaking in deeds, 257 

specialty of rule, 200 

speculation, 238 

spend his mouth, 264 

sperr, 187 

sphered, 201 

sphered bias cheek, 254 

spirit (monosyllable), 198 

spirit of sense, 238 

spirits and fires! 264 

spleen, 204, 219 

spritely (= spirited) , 222 

square (verb), 267 

stale (verb), 226 

state (= council) , 204, 227, 
248 

state (= train), 224 

stickler-like, 274. 

stithied, 260 

stomach, 216, 261 

stool for a witch, 214 

strain (= impulse) , 220 

strange (= distant), 226 

stretched (= affected), 203 

stubborn-chaste, 190 

Stygian banks, 230 

subduements, 260 

subscribes to tender ob- 
jects, 257 

subsequent (accent), 208 

substance (= wealth), 207 

subtle-potent, 231 

success (= issue) , 208, 219 

sufferance (= suffering) , 
188, 215 

suffocate (form), 202 

sunburnt, 206 

suppose Cnoun), 196 

surety, 216 

suspect (noun), 199 

sweat, 281 

sweet honey Greek, 265 



swoon (spelling), 231 

tables (= note-book) , 256 

tabourines, 261 

tapster's arithmetic, 193 

tarre, 210 

tend (= attend) , 224 

tent (play upon), 262 

tent (= probe), 216, 262 

tercel, 232 

tetchy, T90 

Thersites, 211 

Thetis, 197 

thicker (= quicker), 231 

thwart (= athwart), 197 

tickle it, 269 

ticklish, 256 

tide (= time) , 264 

Time must friend or end, 

tisick, 273 

Titan, 280 

tithe (= tenth), 216 

to (= compared to), 189 

to (=in addition to), 187 

to! (= on!), 215 

to his inches, 257 

toast, 197 

topless deputation, 203 

tortive, 196 

traded (= expert), 217 

train (= tempt), 269 

transformation of Jupiter, 

263 
translate, 257 
Troy walls, 196 
trumpet (= trumpeter) , 

205, 254 
turtle (= dove) , 235 
Typhon, 203 

uncomprehensive, 243 
undergo (= undertake) , 

233 
underwrite, 224 
unknown, 239 
unmingled (metre), 197 
unplausive, 238 
unrespective, 217 
unsquared, 203, 267 
untent, 225 



untraded, 259 

use (= continue), 215 

use thefts, 271 

vail (= descent), 274 
valiantly (= finely) , 193 
vantbrace, 207 
varlet (= harlot), 263 
varlet (= servant), 187, 

265 
vassalage, 231 
vaunt (= beginning), 187 
venomous, 248 
villain, 231 
vindictive, 257 
vinewed'st, 214 
violent (dissyllable) , 271 
violenteth, 249 
vipers, 230 
vizarded, 200 
voices, 210 
voluntary (adverb), 215 

waftage, 230 

wallet (= bag) , 240 

ward, 195 

ware (= aware) , 248 

watched, 231 

waterflies, 263 

watery, 231 

wear a castle on thy head, 

269 
weeds (= garments) , 245 
weep mill stones, 194 
wells and Niobes, 280 
where (= in which) , 249 
who (= which), 239, 244 
who (=whom), 228, 259 
whole week by days, 246 
Winchester goose, 281 
with private soul, 257 
witty, 231 

wooden dialogue, 203 
words and errors, 273 
wound to kill, 230 
wrest (noun), 237 

yond, 255 

you may, you may, 230 



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